Ranger's Apprentice
by Theodora Helena Miller
Summary: Halt has a new apprentice who's training with Gilan and Will's first apprentices, and there's a whole new host of other apprentices that change the way Rangers operate and train completely. T for drinking.
1. The Only One

I walked back to the castle, exhausted. Castle Redmont was a breathtaking sight, but it's old news to me and I was too involved in making sure I didn't collapse in the fields outside it. "Hail the gates!" I called, and held up my bronze oak leaf.

The guard did a double take. He was obviously new, hadn't heard the latest gossip.

I ignored him and walked in the open gates. Marissa caught up to me. "So, how's being a Ranger?"

"It's wonderful!" I flashed my best friend a beaming smile.

She wasn't fooled, nor should she be. She knew me far too well.

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah, Missy. That bad. I'm going to take a really hot bath, and then I'm going to sleep for a year or two."

"They moved you to the guest room on floor six, the small one in the southernmost corner." I sighed, and she put her arm around me. "It'll be alright, you'll get the hang of it. And then you'll be as famous as Halt and Will!"

"It'd be great if Halt was actually here! Why did he pick Merron to substitute? He's an idiot and he can't grasp the fact that I'm not just supposed to cook and clean and run errands! All I did today was clean up after his horse and lug around the pack that his horse is supposed to carry!"

"So you'll be sticking with it and absolutely refusing to quit?"

I nodded with a grin and opened the door for her. She waved good-bye and went to her chambers.

I took the stairs three at a time, and even though it threatened to kill me from fatigue, I helped the servants fill the tub—never a good idea to piss off the working class. Trust me on this.

I had to bathe quickly, because I could feel myself falling asleep, but the heat did help stop my muscles from aching like I'd just fought hand to hand with a ship full of Skandians. I even hung my cloak up, not bothering to keep it by my bedside like I had for the first six weeks of my Ranger training.

The bed was nowhere near as comfortable as my last room's bed had been, but then, I'd given up a life of comfort becoming a Ranger, even though I was technically still nobility.

I was supposed to receive at least a semblance of respect in return for that sacrifice for my country, but no. Instead, people asked if I was an imposter.

I was no shorter than Will Treaty had been as a fifteen year old, and skinnier. I was even more muscled than he had been! Plus, I was almost seventeen, since I'd been banned outright at first and then was on probation for a while.

I had one of the top two most famous Rangers as a mentor. I was a natural with the bow—thanks to Uncle Gilan and Halt's help—and even better at riding my horse, Belladonna.

Halt found faults with me, but that was his job. There was nothing more anyone could ask of me!

I got back up and began pacing angrily, too piqued to sleep.

I heard a familiar knock on my door. "Come in, Merron."

The Ranger edged in, looking worried. What, were my chambers going to be so different than his? I glared at him until he started acting normally.

"Um, I'm sorry to intrude, but I have a message for you, it arrived at the cabin a moment or so after you left.

"Go on then, Merron."

"Lady Pauline sent you this." I took the envelope, and then kept waiting expectantly. "And Halt says he'll be back here tomorrow morning and to expect to rise early."

"Anything else?"

"Why does your friend know what we did in training today? Training is confidential. As your temporary mentor, I will have to write you up for that."

Great. Marissa had stormed up to my jerk of a temporary mentor and yelled at him.

I took a deep breath to stop myself from throttling him. It was a close call, and my voice was positively acerbic when I spoke, "We didn't train today. I cleaned and carried stuff. And you sat on your plush armchair like an old woman and watched me work."

"I was testing your character by making sure you could be subservient to your superiors."

"A Ranger's only superiors are the King and God." I said, turning oh-so-slowly to face him. "Now, get out of my chambers before I prove to you that I can shoot arrows better than you think."

I rested my fingers on my longbow, and he took a hint and left.

"Thank God Halt is my mentor."

Remembering the envelope, I opened it. Inside were a petition and a subsequent form that said I was officially off of probation.

I found a letter in the envelope as well.

It was written in Lady Pauline's neat script and read:

_To the newest member of the Ranger Corps:_

_Congratulations on getting off of probation! I'm so glad you've decided not to quit and to keep on persevering in the face of adversity._

_Halt assures me that you are already 'Approaching mediocrity' which means he's proud of your progress._

_I hope Merron isn't causing you any problems. I am sure he is a capable Ranger, but Will told me that he lacks creativity and flexibility in his thinking._

_Halt doesn't want me to tell you this, but you won't be in Redmont much longer! The Corps has decided that it would be good experience for senior apprentices to take on fiefs part-time with their mentor's help. With the extra Rangers, we started a training facility in Seacliff fief._

_You and a few other apprentices will be training as a team and as individuals there. It sprung from an idea of Will's, actually. He pointed out that the teamwork will be an aide to learning diplomacy, a huge part of Rangers' jobs, and build a strong bond and loyalty to the Corps._

_I hope this letter finds you well._

_Sincerely,_

_Lady Pauline_

I smiled a little bit. That did sound pretty amazing, and it would certainly help me catch up on my training… But Marissa and I would be several fiefs apart. I wouldn't see her often at all.

And what with Merron having filed no less than _six_ complaints against me, I was about to be back on a probation not even the Ranger Corps' leader's best friend could get me out of.

So if I stayed and got kicked out, I was a disgrace and not good enough. If I quit, I'd be a weakling and a coward. I was stuck.

My father had been right to tell me to not join the Ranger Corps. I had been too swept up in Uncle Gil's romanticized tales of adventure to consider the logical side of my choice.

And Marissa would be so disappointed. I remembered seeing the delighted glow in her eyes when Halt announced he would take me as his apprentice, and imagined how sad for me she'd be if I wasn't able to become a full Ranger.

I kicked my trunk and yelled, "I hate being the only female Ranger Apprentice!"


	2. Did NOT Go Over Well

A female Ranger Apprentice. Trust me, that went over about as well as the suggestion that all Rangers wear pink cloaks would've.

Then Lady Pauline did the most brilliant thing ever and asked why the Ranger Corps was a chiefly male profession and no one knew. There was no real reason, as it turned out, and she promptly used that to get signatures and support.

It started when I was ten and Dad asked me what I wanted to do, become a Courier like mum or whatever. I had a choice, especially since Gil had been allowed to choose.

Well, what Dad didn't know was that when Grandpa David had hired MacNeil to train me, Gilan taught me and Missy everything and even went so far as to convince MacNeil to train me as well.

That, plus Halt being a friend of the family and Gil and Dad enjoying hunting, meant I knew my way around weapons and liked it a bit too much.

"I want to be a Ranger."

And, well, when he realised there was no convincing me otherwise, he started trying to help me do just that.

I was fifteen when I first tried to get in, and they turned me down automatically. Halt was out of the country, so there wasn't much we could do.

Then, when I was sixteen, Mum died and told Dad on her deathbed to make sure I became a Ranger. He contacted Lady Pauline and she agreed to help (though said she regretted the loss of someone who'd make such a good Courier).

As I later found out, Malcolm, a healer from Macindaw, suggested a girl who'd trained under him for a few years. Her name is Elizabeth Teske, and she's brilliant with knives and herbs, and wanted to be a Ranger but until the petition came around she couldn't.

Adrianne Pichardo, a step-niece or something of the King's dead wife, heard from castle gossip and immediately signed up as well. Her father was an archer before he died when she was three years old.

Annabel Lee Sawyer's father was an archer alongside Adrianne's father, and she heard from Adrianne's mother that they were considering adding female Rangers.

Anne was an orphan in Seacliff and at her Choosing, they'd just accepted girls into the Corps.

Marissa had always shared my dream, so she obviously tried her best to help me and get in herself later.

Hundreds of others tried out as well.

All you had to do was pass the tests.

Only six of us made it into the Corps.


	3. Good Thing You're Not Anymore

"Good thing you aren't anymore then, hmm?"

Will's familiar voice was amused, and I struggled to hide the furious blush creeping up my face—he wasn't supposed to see me when I was throwing tantrums, dammit! It doesn't help that he's already three years older than me—by acting annoyed.

"Will! Good Lord, a little warning before you invaded my personal area would be nice." I snapped.

"Gilan was right." He smirked, unabashed. "You do have quite the temper. I never noticed at those banquets your parents invited me to."

I wasn't in the mood for small talk and wasn't about to let him natter on when he was just doing it to annoy me. "Who are the other girls?" I demanded, tapping my foot.

He shook his head despairingly. "You have a temper and you don't mince words. You're going to spend more time arguing with Halt than training."

On a normal basis I'd have laughed. Instead, I stalked right up to him and glared at him, ignoring the fact that he was about five inches taller than me. "WILL TREATY, TELL ME RIGHT NOW! WHO ARE THE OTHER GIRLS?"

"Adrianne Pichardo, Elizabeth Teske, Annabel Lee Sawyer, Anne Carrick, and… Oh, what was her name… hmm… oh, yeah! Marissa Bruce."

"Seriously? Marissa got in? Who's her mentor? Are you training anyone?"

"So many questions!" He joked.

"Answer them."

"Yes, yes, Meralon, yes."

"Which girl are you training? Are there going to be guy apprentices?"

"Elizabeth, and yes."

I folded my arms. "You didn't mention any boys' names."

"You didn't ask about the guys." Will reminded me, grinning.

I ignored that. "Is Gilan training anyone?" I demanded.

"Adrianne."

Will and Elizabeth, got it. Now for the other girls…

"Who's training Annabel?"

"Crowley."

"Anne?"

"His name is Harrison, I've never met him."

"Guys?"

"There's an apprentice named Henry being trained by Killean."

I nodded slowly, committing it to memory.

"When do we leave?"

He smiled at that.

I was struck (not for the first time, since we knew each other pretty well through Gilan) by the fact that he was barely three years older than me and really good-looking. "You remind me of someone I used to know." He said.

I was the spitting image of his old lover, Alyss. Just shorter, more awkward, and younger.

Alyss and her friend Jenny had gone into a swamp looking for an herb that would help the strange malady that had stricken Redmont a year previously. I'd helped look for them, but no one ever found them or their bodies.

"You miss her." I said.

"Every day."

This was probably my only chance, so I fought back the nervousness and asked what I'd been wondering for a while: "Is it going to bother you that I look like her twin and everything? I know it must be like seeing her and hurting all over again."

Will looked at me with shrewd brown eyes. "Have you ever thought that you saw your mother after she was dead?" He asked.

"All the time." I replied automatically. I saw women who wore clothes like her, women with faces like hers, and women with hair like hers. "Everywhere, everyone."

"I think it's better that I know you. If I passed you on the street, it would haunt me for ages. But looking at you now, I can see every difference."

"You were about to marry her, from what Gilan told me." I said softly, trying not to pry too much (prying is one of my favourite things, so it may have been in vain).

I didn't get an answer anyway, and that's always answer enough.

"You look exhausted. You should get some sleep so Halt doesn't bite both of our heads off in the morning." He turned and vanished into the shadowy hallway.

"Good night, Will." I murmured to the empty air as I slowly closed the door behind him. "Good to see you too."

I collapsed on the bed and rolled up in the quilt, still thinking about the haunted look in Will's eyes. I was sound asleep in moments.


	4. Privacy is Overrated, Apparently

When I woke up, I found that Marissa had had my uniform cleaned for me. For all her annoyingness, that girl can be a saint at times.

I tugged on the gray tunic and gray-green leggings and my cloak. I carefully checked for any problems with my arrows, before swinging the quiver over my shoulder and grabbing the bow and heading for the door.

"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?"

I whirled on Missy, all thoughts of thanking her dissipating like mist in the sunlight. "MARISSA!"

She laughed aloud. "Did Will Treaty tell you that I just got accepted as an apprentice?" She asked excitedly.

"People need to stop sneaking up on me." I grumbled. Then, more to myself, "I need to get a better hang of this whole looking around thing."

"Yeah you do!"

I nudged her with my elbow. "I bet I'm a better Ranger than _you_."

"Only because you've been an apprentice longer!"

"And because I have inborn talent."

"You can't sit still for more than a minute!"

"Neither can you, and I had to teach you to climb trees!"

"You're both going to be late." Halt interrupted coolly. I turned to see him just inside the door.

"Will you all stop doing that?" I demanded. "I'd like some semblance of privacy, if just for a while!"

He raised an eyebrow at my outburst, a danger sign Marissa and I studiously ignored.

"We're coming, sheesh." She muttered.

I elbowed her and we burst into laughter again.

X-x-X-x-X

We rode over a crest in a hill and a large wooded area came into view. "Welcome to the Seacliff Fief Official Ranger Apprentice Training camp." Will said, sweeping a demonstrating arm towards the forest.

"Very nice. I like what you've done with the trees." A rather distinctive feminine voice said.

I turned to the speaker and raised an eyebrow. She'd joined up with the group a little ways away from Redmont. I gathered it was Elizabeth from the fact that she stuck with Will.

The girl between her and Gilan laughed. From that, I could surmise the other girl was Adrianne.

"Good Lord, Gilan, Will, can't you get your apprentices to shut up?"

"Oh, give them a break, Halt. You were just like that when you were an apprentice." Crowley nudged him with his elbow. "Seriously, girls. He was exactly like you, except, well..."

"A guy?" I suggested.

That just made the tall blonde girl on Crowley's other side burst out laughing. That would be Annabel.

"I really don't see what's so funny."

"Ah, it's a thing amongst youths, Halt. You wouldn't understand."

"Will you understand him slapping you, Will?" I asked. "Just wondering."

Now Marissa was laughing, and Annabel and Adrianne both rejoined the merriment.

I cocked an eyebrow at them, and Elizabeth caught my eye and grinned. "I'm thinking that all of this group, right up to Crowley, needs to consider rethinking their career and perhaps becoming jongluers."

"Will knows all about that sort of tomfoolery." Halt scoffed.

"Did you really just use the word tomfoolery? Sheesh, Halt, how old are you?" Elizabeth teased.

Will raised a Halt-like eyebrow at Elizabeth. "It's really not a good idea to make Rangers mad."

I couldn't resist. I really couldn't. "Really, Will? I never noticed that. I never once felt the wrath of a Ranger, and I once drugged sixteen frogs—" I started.

Missy cut me off to correct me. "Seventeen toads."

"Thank you," I said, nodding to her. "I once drugged seventeen toads, wrapped them in a wet towel, put them in a pillow case with fragrant herbs to mask the smell, and replaced a certain Ranger's pillow with it so that when he laid down, a whole bunch of muddled toads woke up and started hopping around." I high-fived Marissa with a grin.

"That was you?" Will cried. "I've been blaming Gil!"

"I told you it wasn't me." Gilan said, shrugging.

Marissa and Rosabel both started laughing, and all of the other apprentices—except the dark haired girl in the back and the boy, Henry—laughed too.

Even Halt looked amused. Well, as amused as he ever gets. Will swears he smiles when you get to know him better. I'm just not able to picture that.

I heard Will cough, and every single person covered their faces with their hands instinctively.

We'd learned from the Sickness- every cough can be a symptom of the deadly illness lurking. The Sickness had killed my mother, indirectly led to Alyss and Jenny's deaths, and caused hundreds others to die.

It was also the reason Marissa was now permanently living with me and had been for two years—her entire family had died in the very first wave of the epidemic.

Redmont had been safe enough after Alyss and Jenny had gone missing- Gilan, Will, and Halt had combed the swamps looking for them and hence came across Azaor, the herb that had cured the Sickness.

My mother was the reason the pair had set out, and she died because they couldn't get Azaor and escape the swamp.

Now everyone was terrified that it would return; an especially worrying thought because the swamps near Redmont had flooded this year and killed the Azaor. The only swamplands with Azoar still growing were in the fief northwest of Seacliff, and they were apparently even more treacherous than the ones in Redmont, with deeper pits of mud and peat and water and more trees tangled with thick vines that refused to allow sunlight in.

But he didn't cough anymore, so we all breathed deeply and kept riding.

Soon enough, we reached the training area. It was a huge clearing in the middle of the woods, with a cabin that looked like Halts except stretched out much longer and with three chimneys.

"I just realized you all were never introduced. This is Adrianne, my apprentice."

Gilan gestured to the tall girl beside Elizabeth, who had red-tinted light brown hair, freckles, and dark green eyes.

"I'm Marissa."

"I'm Annabel Lee!" That was the tall blonde girl.

Elizabeth, who had short dark brown hair paired with pointy features and wide brown eyes, spoke up next. "I'm Elizabeth, better known as Bessie."

"I'm Anne." Added the dark haired girl with green eyes. "I guess you can call me Annie."

"I'm Henry."

"I'm Rosabel. It's not pronounced like the flower, and I never, ever go by Rose or Bell."

"I guess we mentors should introduce ourselves. It'll be a bit quicker. Harrison, Killean, Will, Halt, Meralon, and Crowley. I'm Gilan."

"Right. Now, let's actually try to get some training in before we chat the daylight away."

Three guesses who that was? You won't believe it. It was Halt.

I led Belladonna, my horse, to the stables and tied her there securely. "I'll bring you an apple before I go to sleep tonight, Donna." She nuzzled me with her soft brown nose and I stroked the white spot on her forehead.

"You really get along well with your horse."

I spun like a top to see Elizabeth.

"We practically grew up together. I begged and begged until I got a Ranger horse of my own. She was just a foal then."

"Why'd you name her Belladonna?"

"Her kicks are about as deadly as belladonna."

"You like herbs?" She sat on the edge of one of the stalls to listen to my response.

"Yeah, I guess. I drugged a few frogs… toads… hung flowers in the stables to help cover the smell… just simple homey stuff."

"We used to string lavender and mint from the rafters."

"Used to?" I guessed.

"Now we sell them to make a profit, because it apparently helps the symptoms of the Sickness."

I shuddered at the thought of the Sickness.

She noticed it immediately. "Who'd you lose?"

"My mother. Did you lose anyone?"

"No." She said, scanning me. "Are you related to Gilan?"

"Yeah, he's my mother's brother. How'd you tell?"

"Your hair is the exact same color, and you both have a slight dusting of freckles on your noses. And I guess your nose is like his, except more feminine."

"Observant, aren't you? You'll make a great Ranger. Friends?" I added, holding out a hand.

Elizabeth shook it. "At your own risk." She said, and I hoped she was joking. I could tell Elizabeth would be a dangerous enemy, but it was possible that she'd make an even more dangerous friend.

"You've got a thing for Will." She commented. "How long have you known him?"

I didn't bother denying anything. It'd just be a waste of breath. "Two years. I was at Halt's wedding, not that he saw me then. He had _Alyss_.

"Not that I didn't like Alyss, of course. She was just too calm and steady, whereas I'm spontaneous and mischievous. She was too girly, even though she never acted all air-headed. She wouldn't have beaten up the village boys for poking her horse with long sticks; she'd have spoken to them."

"Village boys?"

"I told them to leave Belladonna alone." I answered without a trace of chagrin.

"Are you girls ever going to stop chatting and come inside?" Halt snapped from the doorway. "We're waiting to take everyone on a quick tour." He added.

I was ready with a comeback by that time. "I thought we're supposed to be getting to know each other."

At the exact same time, Elizabeth answered, "Will's my mentor, not you." I turned back to Halt, expecting him to get in her face.

He just grunted and turned away. Apparently Halt was amused.


	5. One Brave Idiot, Pt 1

"Three months of training, and you can't even hit the tree you're aiming at?" Halt snapped, and even though he sounded furious, I knew he was disappointed.

I rolled my eyes. "I hit exactly where I aimed."

"The enemy warrior is at this tree." Halt barked. "Not over there."

"Ah, but what tactician would send one warrior to approach a skilled archer without a plan? Clearly, the plan would have to consist of surrounding me. If I shoot into equal spaces here, here, and here, there should be at least one soldier wounded, causing unrest in the ranks. Then I could use the old 'Rangers are sorcerers' trick."

"Well, he's a solo warrior."

"What would one warrior be doing in the middle of an enemy country? He might as well wear a target 'round his shoulders." I argued.

"This is aiming, not tactics."

I lifted my bow, concentrated, and fired. The arrow pinned Halt's hood to the tree he was leaning against. "Satisfied?" I called.

He glanced at the bow, back at me, and then raised an eyebrow.

"There's more to shooting than accuracy."

I tried not to sigh. Now I had to work on speed.

Halt nodded to Anne, who'd paused to listen, to keep shooting. She and Henry were working on aim too. I would have to work on speed with Elizabeth and Adrianne under the watchful eye of Will. Gilan was teaching Maria and Annabel to move unseen.

We'd all grown pretty close over the past three months, but Anne and Henry were still kind of aloof and hard to trust. Anne never smiled, and not in the way Halt never smiled. She never showed any sign that she was anything but a cloaked creature with a bow. She was emotionless, and viewed everything with a detached interest, like one would show to a rock.

I didn't really like Meralon or Killean or Harrison. They were unknown and I got the feeling they thought training girls was useless.

Luckily, they often went to check on the major fiefs, along with Crowley. That left us alone with Halt, Will, and Gilan most of the time.

I reached Will and immediately joined in. I could shoot the targets in random order and hit the place I aimed, but it took ten seconds. If I sped up, I usually missed the center by a hand's width. Since I had hands as big as my fathers and bigger than Gil's, a hand's width was no joke for me.

Will approached me. "Rosabel, you have to pull your hair back sometime. It's blocking your quiver."

"I never get time to braid it." I answered, trying to tie it back with the ribbon I used for it.

"Here, let me try." He said, taking the hair out of my grasp. "You could just cut your hair. Mind you, it'll probably grow back longer and thicker than it is now."

"I don't think it can get much thicker."

Will laughed. "You're probably right." He admitted.

I could tell by where his knuckles occasionally brushed my back that he was almost done braiding it. I reached my hand back. "I can handle it from here. You probably couldn't tie ribbon into a bow if you tried."

"I'm surprised you can."

"Mother _tried_ to teach me to act lady-like. I picked a few things up, like sewing. I still can't embroider, though. I don't see the point of making a handkerchief pretty if it's just going to be used to clean up anyway."

"You really miss her?"

"Like you miss Alyss." I replied, before quickly realizing both Adrianne and Bessie were staring. I started to unfreeze the rank-free moment and get back to apprentice and skilled Ranger, but he fell into another bout of coughing. "Are you alright?"

Will met my eyes and shook his head. I dropped my bow and called for Halt. Rangers don't overreact like that.

Elizabeth reached us first. "What is it?"

I felt a surge of panic but forced myself to look Will's apprentice in the eye. "It's the Sickness." I said.

Time seemed to slow down. Elizabeth asked me if I was sure, Adrianne wanted to know what to do first, Halt was trying to figure out what was going on, and Gilan was hovering anxiously. All I really noticed was Will's eyes. They were blank and empty, like he'd already gone to join my mother and Alyss.

X-x-X-x-X

I was kneeling by Will's bed when the Ranger finally fell asleep. We'd been administering all sorts of herbs for hours, and only Gil and I had not moved from his side. Beth and Halt couldn't bear to hang around.

"Gil, I'm right, aren't I? It's the Sickness?"

"Halt's already grieving." My uncle answered dully. He was grieving too, I realized.

"Will is not going to die. We won't lose anyone else to the Sickness." I was numb with the fear of losing Will, whose jokes and mandola playing had become part of my life for the past two years. "I will not let it happen."

"You can't do anything. Only Azaor works, and it's too dangerous to come across."

"I swear here and now on my honor as an Apprentice Ranger and on my mother's soul that I will get Azaor or die trying."

I heard a footstep and turned to see Halt in the doorway, looking older than I'd ever seen him look. "Absolutely not, Rosabel. I won't lose two apprentices to this Sickness." He said quietly.

"He's a son to you. You're planning to go out yourself." I guessed quickly.

"I've left my duties to save Will before."

I stood and put a hand on his shoulder. "Araluen needs you."

"I've served my time to Araluen."

"And you still can. What will I do without a mentor? Look, the risk is mine to take and mine alone. I'm going."

"You're…" Will began to speak in a raspy voice, "One… brave… idiot… Rosabel."

"See? He agrees with me." I joked grimly.

"Atta… girl."

I glanced at Will and saw him smile tiredly as he fell back into a restless sleep. "I'm leaving." I announced.

Once the coughing started suddenly like that, Will didn't have long. Now that the sleep had started, he was entering a dangerous time. After that night's sunset and the next sunset, he only had until midmorning before he started to cough blood and eventually died, probably from the fever or maybe just because he'd coughed up too much blood.

Halt and Gilan looked at me with lifeless eyes, spurring me to move faster. As I laced my boots up, I heard Will mutter, "Morgarath… Kalkara… not dead… how?"

His feverish dreams had turned to nightmares. I'd heard stories of the Kalkara—their blood-curdling screams, their matted fur, their razor claws, and their hypnotic eyes struck fear in all of Araluen for years. But Morgarath was a name uttered only with hushed vices and frightened eyes, even these three years after his death.

"Rosabel, I forbid you to go." Halt snapped. I rolled my eyes and left. Ignoring the questioning cries of the other apprentices, I sprinted down the hall and out into the stable, untying my horse quickly. Southwest was the swamp. _Southwest._

_Southwest_ rang through my mind for hours, in time with the crunching of hooves against the ground. My cloak did little to warm me since it was splayed out behind me, being tugged at by the wind and Belladonna's speed. I didn't really care how cold I got.

Will was dying.


	6. One Brave Idiot, Pt 2

When the ground turned to mud that slurped at my feet, I slowed and tied Belladonna to a tree so I could test the earth before I put my whole weight on it.

Azaor grew smack dab in the middle of swamps. If I didn't want to end up like Alyss, I had to be careful.

_If you don't want to end up like Alyss, maybe you shouldn't have fallen in love with Will._

"Shut up, inner voice."

My boot got stuck and I groaned. This testing thing was not going to work; I climbed up into a tree. I travelled like a squirrel, hopping from branch to branch and stopping to find my way on each tree. Marissa and I used to spy on people like this, and trained by having races.

The sun was completely set by the time I reached ground wet enough to keep Azaor alive. I had to rely on the moonlight and instincts by that time.

I glanced down—one wrong step and I could fall into the mud, never to be able to drag myself out. I dropped to the ground and perched on a root that stuck out of the water.

I started to reach for my fire making kit when I remembered that there was something in swamps that exploded when fire mixed with it. I had to find the Azaor in the dull light of the moon—this was simply not going to be easy.

There was no sign of the spiky plant, but there was a very large creature crouching not far from me. I reached into my quiver and slowly pulled out an arrow. The animal straightened until it was huge, taller than any Skandian. Its eyes flashed in the moonlight, and I felt a strange urge to look into them.

I ducked my head, pulled my bowstring back, and fired from memory. My adversary screeched, and I recognized it from the terrifying stories I'd heard. Will's feverish nightmares had some truth to them.

I was just paces away from a _Kalkara_.

My instincts kicked in, and I climbed back into the tree. Only fire worked, and that would kill me too. The best defence would be to wait until it lost interest in me and left. It screamed again, and I saw in the moonlight that my arrow had pierced its skin at least a little bit—must've been the close range, or maybe just that the damp air softened its hide.

As I was trying to figure out if Kalkara could climb trees, it occurred to me that the reason Kalkara were so flammable was because they came from the swamps. An interesting theory; I would have to present it to Halt if I lived.

I fired more shots, as quickly as I could while staying accurate. Surely if I crammed enough arrows into its chest, it would die eventually...

The Kalkara grabbed the tree trunk and pulled. I crawled along the branches into another tree and shot at its back from there.

It screamed again and I barely managed to grab a sturdy tree branch as my haven was once again pushed over, and had to scramble up onto the branch.

The battle went in circles, as I switched trees and the Kalkara pushed them over.

I'd run out of arrows and was trying to simply survive at that point—there was no way I could get close enough to kill it with my knives without dying myself.

So I had a whole bunch of crap options.

Option one: wait it out. Not going to work, since it was already sniffing the air, trying to find me among the sulphur-rich air and the trees that were probably hung with fear scent.

Option two: use fire. Yeah, and let the swamp explode in my face? That was a death warrant.

Option three: stab it. I would either succeed and be injured (possibly falling into the swamp or even dying) or not succeed and die.

Option four: try to find the Azaor and run with it. That was probably how Alyss and Jenny died, thank-you-very-much-but-I-think-I'll-pass.

All of them meant death for me, and for Will, but I was running out of time.

I reached into my cloak pocket, pulled out my fire starting kit, and opened it with shaking fingers.

The first ray of sunlight poked over the watery horizon, giving a dim greenish glow to the swamp. As the Kalkara's hypnotic eyes turned on me, I managed to get a spark. I held a dry stick to it and watched flames lick at it until I was sure it wouldn't go out when I dropped it.

The stick fell right onto the Kalkara's shoulder, and I climbed higher into the tree with my head down to avoid the blast.

Screaming in terror instead of bloodlust, the nightmarish monster died in a plume of smoke. The sun brightened the world a little, and I could see the Azaor.

I waded through thick mud and grabbed the plant, ignoring the thorns piercing me as I clenched it in my fist.

Will would live. I looked around at the swamp and shuddered before I headed back towards the edge of the swamp.

Belladonna was still tied to the tree looking bored. I untied her and swung into the saddle. She took off at a full gallop, sensing my urgency. I leaned forward, pleased to be on the move again, outside the eerie world inside the swamp.

The training grounds came into sight quickly enough, and I soon jumped off of Belladonna and dashed into the house, pushing doors and people out of my way. I skidded into the room where Will was and panted, "Found it."

Elizabeth smiled wearily. "Good work, Rosabel." She said, taking the plant.

"Will," I wheezed, "Wake up."

The Ranger stirred, and Beth quickly shoved the flower petals into his mouth. Confused, Will swallowed and choked slightly.

"Why is your quiver empty?" A familiar voice asked, and I turned to see Horace Altman in the corner.

"I shot a Kalkara about thirty times, that's all. I'll replenish it."

"A Kalkara?" Halt demanded.

"Don't get all worked up, Halt. It died."

I realized Halt, Beth, and Horace were giving me looks that said they were going to get as worked up as they wanted. With a sigh, I plopped down on the edge of Will's bed and started explaining.

"…And then I finally reached Belladonna."

"Wow." Horace said. Everyone had showed up to hear my story, and the room was extremely crowded.

Elizabeth frowned. "I can't believe I missed an opportunity to see a Kalkara burst into flames. I'd have used fire right away, though."

"That could've killed the Azaor," Adrianne argued, "And it would kill you. Rosabel was lucky."

Will stirred again, and I leapt to my feet. "Rosabel?" He mumbled.

"Yes?"

"You're one brave idiot."

Everyone laughed, and Will sat up slowly. Halt and I both rushed forward to support him. He grinned weakly and elbowed Halt away. I didn't budge.

"Rosabel, Gilan will never let me forget it if I have to get help from a girl apprentice just to stand."

I backed off and bumped into Halt, who was looking grim and extremely angry. "Rosabel Stalon, if you ever do anything stupid like that again, I will kill you. Attacking a Kalkara? You never should have gone in the first place!"

"Um…"

"You could have died! What would I tell your father? What would Gilan and Marissa do? Go get clean clothes on! And then stay in your bunk and sleep!"

"I'm not tired." I lied.

"That's an order." Halt snapped. "You're not going to be training for twenty-four hours, understood?"

"Yes sir."

I trudged out of the room and did as I was told. For once, I was kind of enjoying following orders.


	7. Battle for Breakfast

**Sorry about the length and time-jumps. I tried to insert lines, but it didn't work. And the length… I read 700 page books in like 6 hours flat, so my perception is skewed. LOL. Anyway, enjoy the extra-long awesomeness by the most amazing person ever (and totally modest, of course), Theodora Helena Miller.**

I paced back and forth outside the room, waiting. Gilan had gotten up ages before, but Will was still inside. It'd been two weeks since I'd cured him and today he was supposed to get back to training us. I was worried he'd hate me for saving him, since dying would have meant rejoining Alyss in whatever followed this world.

Halt left his own bunk room and saw me. "Rosabel, he's an adult. He doesn't need you to worry about him."

"If Pauline had died before you were poisoned, would you have particularly wanted to live?" I snapped, not caring if I was drudging up painful memories of his native country.

"Yes. She'd be disappointed in me if I let myself die."

"Ahem." Will said, opening the door. "Let's not laze about. There's training to do."

Halt and I turned at the same time. "Will!" I cried out happily.

"Yes, I do appear to be Will. How odd."

"And I appear to be a brave idiot."

"Appear? I think it's more a state of being than a state of appearing." Elizabeth commented from out of sight. We all looked up to see her perched on a rafter in the middle of the ceiling.

Halt did a double take and then sighed. "I'm not even going to ask."

"I am. The why is obviously 'because it's fun,' but the how is still a mystery."

"The why is actually 'because I can' and the how is for only me to know. You can try to find out, Rosabel."

I scanned the room and my gaze caught the front door. There were pegs for hanging cloaks firmly planted in the wall. I sprinted across the room, gathering speed, before I pushed off of a chair, grabbed the pegs, put a firm foot on the top of the door frame, and used the sheer force of momentum to keep standing up long enough to get a firm grip on the rafter.

I pulled myself up, got one knee on it, and from there it was easy. I walked back and forth on the rafter to get a feel for movement, and then proceeded to jump from rafter to rafter until I was standing over the coffee pot.

Adrianne jumped up on the table to pass me the coffee pot before she followed me up, using her height as an extra advantage.

Marissa and Annabel followed. To my surprise, Anne climbed onto the table and helped me get several mugs. She and Henry joined us silently, leaving the three older Rangers looking a bit confused.

We all got a cup of coffee, and left our mentors waiting for the pot so they could make their own coffee.

There was simply no room on the rafters for them, and they couldn't figure out how to get up anyway.

"I think we apprentices win this particular breakfast." I grinned.

"I didn't realize breakfast was a battle." Halt answered grimly. "Will, stop that!"

Will looked at his former mentor sheepishly from where he was trying to climb up. "I want coffee." He said, pretending to whine.

Gilan sighed. "I'm pretty sure this is where we choose between paying ransom or not having coffee."

"Correct. We want a day off."

Everyone's jaws dropped, even the adults'. Anne was the one who'd spoken, and she was grinning wickedly from beside Henry. Anne was utterly diligent and she never smiled. But here she was, beaming and demanding a break.

The three Rangers huddled to discuss the day off versus the day without coffee.

"I'm pretty sure these terms aren't up for discussion." I said firmly. "We want a day off, a time to socialize instead of learning the difference between a Temujai warrior's helmet and a Temujai leader's helmet or how to mark a tiny trickle of creek water on a map."

"Well, we can't just let you all slack off every time you steal the coffee pot." Gilan said reasonably.

"We'll play some sort of game, then. I'm sure we can make up some game that incorporates our training and is still fun." I said firmly.

Anne nodded in appreciation. "Well, we have to have a goal."

"And obstacles." Adrianne added. "Like a place where we can't go."

Elizabeth stood up on her beam. "We should have teams, too." She suggested.

I thought hard for a moment to try and mesh the ideas into one.

"Well, there can be two territories. And each team can try to keep their territory safe from the other team…" I began.

"And they can guard something." Anne continued for me, "Which the other team must find in order to steal and win the game!"

"We can use two handkerchiefs. What would we do to keep our territories safe?" Marissa said, pulling a lavender handkerchief out of her pocket.

Will grinned. "Tag each other." He told us quickly.

"Why are you encouraging them?" Halt asked, exasperated. "You do realize you're not an apprentice, right?"

"Oh yeah…"

"Will and Halt are so on my team." I said.

Annabel stuck her tongue out. "Then I get Anne and Gilan."

"I definitely want Elizabeth on my team." Will said from below. I glared until he amended, "Rosabel's team, I meant."

Elizabeth dragged Adrianne with her. "Adrianne and I are a package deal."

"Yeah, and I go with Anne." Henry rejoined.

"That leaves me with Annabel. We're so going to beat you, Rosabel."

I rolled my eyes. "You can try, Missy." I told her.

"Let's go. We're the lavender team, I guess." Marissa told them, handing Annabel her handkerchief.

Elizabeth pulled a black handkerchief out of what seemed to be nowhere. "We're the black team."

Laughing and chatting about our strategy, we all climbed down and let our mentors finally have the coffee pot.

Somewhere the lines had blurred between apprentice and Rangers; I certainly wasn't complaining as I told Will about my favorite prank on our way into the depths of the forest. _Keep the blurring up, lines,_ I thought and smiled wryly, glad Halt couldn't actually read minds. _I could use fewer lines between me and Will_.


	8. Danger Magnet

**So, I'll try to keep this short. Thanks for all the nice reviews, and sorry for the length/conversations thing. I'll probably be updating a lot, since my writing partner just got her first boyfriend and has yet to send me her latest chapters of the novel we're working on. (I've already written like ten chapters for when she sends it to me, so I'm all out of serious writing.)**

I looked over my shoulder. There was no one there, but I still felt the familiar prickle on the back of my neck. Someone was watching me, unseen.

I pressed myself to a pine tree and waited until I knew I'd faded out of sight. It didn't work; whoever it was knew a Ranger's tricks.

Instinct kicked in, and my hand closed around an arrow in my quiver. I drew it slowly and loaded my bow, keeping its string relaxed while I tried to pinpoint where the watcher was. Halt's training was really paying off.

A squirrel scurried through the autumn leaves, and then disappeared into a large clump of bushes. It came out the other side so fast that it became a furry blur and scattered the leaves. I raised my bow, pointed it, and pulled the bowstring back. "Stand and be recognized!" I said firmly, loud enough for whoever it was to hear.

There was utter silence; my voice had scared the birds.

I felt another pair of eyes on me and realized I'd walked into an ambush. It was my very first time out of the training area to collect map data, and I was already being duped.

"Drop the bow, sorcerer." It wasn't a voice I recognized, so this wasn't a test set up by Halt. "You're outnumbered."

"Oh, really? Then why don't you prove it by coming out?" I answered, hoping that it was a bluff.

No less than sixteen men appeared, with crossbows in their hands and daggers in their belts.

I felt the strangest urge to giggle hysterically. Definitely not a test.

"Believe me now, sorcerer?"

I looked at the speaker out of the corner of my eye. He was wearing a sheathed sword. I decided he had to be the leader. I turned slowly, laying my bow down slowly.

"Tell me, do really you think I'm a sorcerer?"

"You're a young one, not too dangerous. Your voice is too high for you to be fully trained."

I shook my long hair out, and the hood fell backwards. "I'm pretty sure you forgot to figure in the fact that I'm actually a sorceress."

It was a struggle to not laugh. One, I'd never called myself a sorceress before. And two, the looks on their faces were priceless.

My hands moved quickly, and I was backed against the tree again so no one could sneak up on me, and I had my throwing knife in my hand. "I once sealed a guy in a rock and he-" I threw the knife midway through what I was saying.

The knife didn't kill the leader, but it certainly hurt him. I dropped to the ground to avoid the crossfire from the bolts, and came back up with my bow loaded.

"Hand over whatever you've stolen and then get out of here before I do something you'll regret."

They dropped everything, including their weapons, and ran off supporting their leader.

I sighed and dropped to the ground. The whole near death experience thing was getting strangely tiring. I'd nearly been killed by a bear the day before. It was odd- I'd seen it peacefully eating berries moments before it turned and ran. I didn't even think it saw me in its path. Luckily, I'd jumped out of its way just in time to not be run over.

I was some sort of danger magnet, it seemed.

I got back up and headed back towards the camp with the stolen stuff, reckoning that the sun would be down by the time I reached the cabin.

As I passed beneath a huge oak tree, I heard a crash and whirled around. There was a huge, splintered branch right behind me. I looked up, but I couldn't see anyone in the tree. I took off running, thinking of the would-be thieves and the Kalkara.

I skidded into the cabin yet again. I always seemed to be rushing into it. "Halt!"

"What is it?" My mentor turned around.

"I think- is the cabin empty?"

"Yes, you're the first one back. Did you get an accurate map drawn?"

"Never mind that. Halt, I think someone's trying to kill me."

He didn't scoff like I'd halfway expected him to. Instead, he set two mugs of coffee on the table and motioned for me to sit. "Explain." He said shortly.

"Remember that bear yesterday?" Halt nodded, and I continued. "Well, today a huge group of bandits attacked me, and then a tree branch fell right beside me without warning."

"Do you think it could be a coincidence?"

"You're the one who says there's no such thing. I think it's too strange."

"What have you been nosing your way into?"

"Nothing!"

Halt gave me a look that plainly said,_ don't lie to me_.

"Um, I may or may not have been looking through some of Crowley's files." I said quietly.

"Is that so?"

"Well, I heard a discrepancy between two of Harrison's stories of some mission out in Gallica, so I was curious about what the truth was. And then I found Killean's file that mentioned that he'd been assigned to Gorlan fief back in the day. And then Meralon's file kind of fell open."

"Rosabel, did anyone catch you?"

"No- well, I don't know. I was really engrossed in a few files."

He raised an eyebrow. "Like Will's?"

"Not just his… There was one on Gil and, um, you."

"No wonder someone wants to kill you." He muttered. "But if that's all you're mixed up in, then that means it's one of our Rangers."

I winced. "A Ranger is trying to kill me?" That meant they'd succeed.

"It would seem so. You will continue your training as per usual, and tell no one about this. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

X-x-X-x-X

I got up the next morning and got a cup of coffee while humming the tune to Graybeard Halt. I kept a straight face, neither overly happy nor suspiciously quiet.

Elizabeth seemed to sense something was up, but she said nothing as we cleaned the pots and pans by the river after breakfast.

"Did you hear that there's going to be a knight training alongside us?" She asked nonchalantly.

"No! Seriously? Is Horace going to start staying here too with the apprentice knight?"

"Yeah. The guy's name is Kory."

"Weird name."

She shrugged. "It's Hibernian. Anyway, I wonder if he's good looking. What's with you and Will, anyway? I mean, you like him, but there's something reciprocal there."

I shrugged too. "He's a good friend." I said.

"Like Anne and Henry are good friends?" She asked. "Well, Halt will kill us if he hears us chatting. Are your pans clean?"

I winced at the phrase _kill us_, but I nodded anyway and helped her carry the pans back inside to dry.


	9. Consequences of Snooping

Yes, I killed Alyss and Jenny. I was totally jealous of Alyss (*please die in that tower- darn!* I know, I'm horrible) and my best friend (Marissa) was jealous of Jenny.

And yeah, I pick on Will. It's just that he's so fun to write about.

Capture the flag is my sport. I've been trying to convince the schools in my area to start teams, like any other sport.

I liked the rafter thing myself- I was considering having them all sing Graybeard Halt and mess with Halt. Although, I must say Halt is just awesome- coolest character ever, even including Snape.

Here is a guide to the apprentices and Rangers:

Annabel- Crowley's apprentice; tall, blonde, blue eyes; really cheerful and quick to laugh

Elizabeth- Will's apprentice; petite, brunette, brown eyes; wry and somewhat sarcastic sense of humor; knows her way about herbs and plants in general

Adrianne- Gilan's apprentice; tall, brunette, green eyes; quick to anger but quicker to laugh and very stubborn; excellent with a bow

Rosabel- Halt's apprentice; petite, blonde, green eyes; loves sarcasm and has a tendency to be stubborn but loyalty balances that out; lost her mother to the Sickness; best at aim but shoots slowly

Anne- Killean's apprentice (?); petite, red hair that's so dark it looks black, green eyes; quiet and solemn until she becomes used to people; mysterious in general

Henry- Harrison's apprentice (?); tall and skinny with dark hair and gray eyes; never really speaks; friends with Anne

I had to be scared. The Kalkara I could see. The bandits I could see. The bear I could see. But I knew nothing about whoever was trying to kill me.

"Rosabel, stop looking over your shoulder. There aren't Kalkara in these woods." Gilan snapped.

I nodded, knowing my jumpiness was scaring everyone else.

"Why don't you take a walk and calm down while the apprentices stay here with Gilan, Will, and me?" Halt suggested. "You can practice with your knives after lunch."

All of the apprentices stared. Halt never let any apprentices put training off. I ignored their questioning glances and sprinted away. I knew what was up- Halt was trying to eliminate suspects.

Once I found a rocky outcrop in a field beyond the woods, I stopped running and flopped into the grass.

"Wow, you Rangers really are special; I could hardly see you." An unfamiliar voice said. I looked up to see a guy with boyish good looks, straight brown hair that reached his earlobes, and blue eyes. "Kory."

"Rosabel Stalon. Kory, can I talk to you really quickly?"

"Sure. What about?"

"Someone in the camp is trying to kill me. I can't trust any of them, not even my foster sister or uncle."

"Is this a prank for the new guy?"

I shook my head. "No. The prank is to steal your weapons and tie them to the rafters just out of your reach. This is serious."

"Alright. Why talk to me?"

"Well, I doubt that you're involved."

"Why are they trying to kill you?"

"I snooped in a few official Ranger documents, files, you know… I think one of them doesn't particularly want me finding anything. I'm pretty sure there's something in there that could prove the person guilty of this or that."

"So what can I do?" He asked.

"How opposed are you to theft, Kory?"

I made sure the door was locked. Kory drew the drapes closed, and I lit a lantern. Something had to be in the files. I spread the first one out. It happened to be Will's.

Boars, Kalkara, Morgorath, Skandians, drugs, wars, sieges, cults, poison, assassins… It was a lot, but it all matched up.

Kory looked up from Gilan's. "The facts don't contradict each other in Gilan's." He told me.

"Will's is clean too. I'll take Halt, you read Crowley's."

My head was hurting after I finished cross-checking Halt's file. He'd done a lot in his thirty or so years as a Ranger.

Kory was already reading Annabel's file, so I picked up Marissa's. I knew everything inside of it already, and my memories matched the records too.

I moved on to Elizabeth while he looked into Adrianne. Bess had a large file for only being an apprentice, but it was mostly comprised of stuff about herb knowledge.

I looked at Anne's next. She'd been working around the Rangers for ages, apparently, and she'd been half-trained already when she became an apprentice.

"Henry's fine. Rosabel, this is pointless."

"Killean and Harrison. You take Killean."

I read the first few lines of Harrisons and then frowned. "Kory, do magnolias flower in the fall?"

"Magnolias?"

"Big trees. Bell shaped. Big, glossy, dark green leaves with furry brown underneath. White flowers bigger than a dinner plate."

"Oh, those! We had them not to far from my house. They get the flowers in spring and summer."

"Then how did Harrison use the strong scent of their flowers to escape hunting dogs while he was breaking out of a prison in Gallica?"

"Huh?"

"He had to have talked his way out. Let me keep looking. Yeah, see, it says here that he missed the Ranger's Gathering because a bad trout he caught while on the way made him ill. Trout is a saltwater fish."

"Why do you know more about fish than about flowers?" Kory asked, confused.

"I'm a girl, yes, but I'm also a Ranger. Now, let's go talk to Halt."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

I whirled around and saw Harrison in the doorway. I'd known Will shouldn't have oiled the hinges and locks so they'd be silent.

He spoke quietly, but I knew he wasn't bluffing. "You and Kory had a tragic accident during a mock sword fight. You tried the two knife sword defense, but your knife slipped and his sword actually hit you. Since the two of you were lovers, he was overwhelmed with guilt and stabbed himself with your saxe knife."

"Here's the thing," I said, trying to act cool and composed, "I've never heard of any two knife sword defense."

I was lying through my teeth. I'd made Gilan go through every single detail of how Morgorath was killed, blow by blow. Of course I knew the two knife sword defense.

"They don't know that. Maybe someone mentioned it in passing." He suggested, still whispering dangerously.

I rolled my eyes like I was bored and unconcerned. "Are you trying to talk us to death, Harrison?" I challenged.

Kory gave me a look that told me that he thought I was insane. I stepped sideways ever so slowly. Harrison moved too. I kept my actions slow and calculated while he matched my pace and circled. Kory moved towards him, but the Ranger saw him and simply moved one pace back so he could watch both of us.

I kept circling, not even knowing what my plan was. All I knew was that the little voice of instinct in the back of my head, which spoke in Halt's voice, was telling me to keep him talking.

"So, the Gallicans bought you out. Tell me, though, how did you plan to kill us and still make it look like an accident and suicide? If you get the angle off… and you'd have to get our weapons first, and my knives are tucked away where you won't find them. And Kory's are still high up in the rafters."

"Well, I can still improvise. Maybe you died in a horrible fire."

"Seriously, Harrison- can I call you Harry?"

"No."

"Seriously, Harry, stop talking in the past tense when you mean the future perfect tense with a helping verb of possibility, like could."

Kory was still giving me that look, but now Harrison was too. "You're insane."

"Thank you, Harry. It's very kind of you to say so."

Now I was back to wanting to giggle hysterically, just like I had when his bought bandits were trying to kill me.

My circling took me towards the window. I stumbled backwards and caught myself against the sill. I lifted the sill and reached into the compartment.

"Anyway, why trout? Didn't you do any research? Sheesh." I was talking again, not stalling so much as hiding the sound of me trying to find my knife.

At the exact same time, three things happened. The rest of the Rangers (and Horace) poured in as I pointed my saxe knife threateningly at the traitor, which was interrupted by Kory tackling him.

I sat down and started the hysterical giggling. I can only hold that sort of thing back for so long.


	10. Not So Extinct

My co-writer sent me the chapters but I already finished mine so I'm back to fanfiction. Definitely not complaining, it's so much easier when the characters are already developed. And of course, they're tons of fun to write about. IDK whether or not to put an s after Kalkara… So I've left it like deer or fish or sheep, with no s added. (Whoa, I just realized all of those nouns without an s added to them in the plural are animals… cool.)

It's long again, just so much to write and I'm bored. All I've done since Friday at 3:30 is clean and do homework and get a haircut and look for new flowers for our front flowerbed. Yawntastic.

XXX

"So let me get this straight… Rosabel read everyone's files?" Crowley asked, while I tried not to look too guilty.

Halt nodded. "Yes, she did."

"And only one of our Rangers tried to kill her?"

I clamped a hand over my own mouth to keep from laughing.

We'd taken Harrison to be tried for treason, and Crowley had been summoned to hear the explanation. Kory was still totally suspicious of everyone, but I knew things were back to normal. Well, almost normal.

Harrison was gone, and Merron had replaced him. We all spent the few moments of free time thinking up new pranks on him. Halt even made an effort to brush off his complaints. ("You never do know where toads will end up, Merron. Have you been leaving the windows open?")

"Well, we need to get back to training." Halt said briskly. "Rosabel, come."

I ran outside after him and untied Belladonna while he climbed into Abelard's saddle.

XXX

"What animal caused these tracks?"

I leaned sideways to see the tracks Halt was pointing at. "Two deer." I answered eventually.

Halt nodded. "Anything else?"

"They were walking calmly but then they were frightened by… something over there." I pointed to the place where the tracks veered sharply away from.

"Well, go look at those tracks."

I steered Belladonna off the path and to where the tracks should have been. The tracks were huge, and eerily familiar. "Halt!" He must have heard the urgency in my voice, because he jumped to the ground and ran over to me. "Please tell me those tracks aren't what I think they are?"

"Rosabel, go back to camp and get the two biggest pots. Fill them with water and then come back."

"You're not going to use fire, are you? But Halt, that could burn the entire fief!"

"That's what the water is for."

"We could send for a bunch of knights."

"Rosabel, people die fighting Kalkara. Go get water."

I nodded and started off along the path again. I bit my lip, and then wheeled Belladonna around. I urged her to a gallop and set off towards the fief's castle, thinking of getting a few knights to help.

XXX

"Rosabel?" I looked over and saw that the other Ranger apprentices as well as Kory were on their horses beside Will, who'd spoken.

I compelled Belladonna to turn around and motioned for him to come. "Kalkara. Halt's out there."

Will nodded and told the apprentices to stay before matching my pace. I heard all of the apprentices laugh and make comments like "yeah, right". They simply joined the galloping horses.

I found the tracks not long after they joined me. I saw Halt's footprints and followed them. I heard the screaming get louder and motioned for everyone to fan out.

Belladonna firmly planted her hooves in the soft ground and refused to move. Everyone dismounted and readied their weapons.

I found myself between Will and Elizabeth. Adrianne fell into step on Elizabeth's right, where she always was.

"Halt?"

I nearly shot Kory for that. Seriously, who calls out to someone who's hunting and/or being hunted by a practically invincible creature? I rolled my eyes and caught a glimpse of Halt in a tree. I nudged Will and nodded towards its trunk.

I'd misjudged the Kalkara. There were five. They must have stepped in each other's footprints. I didn't know they were intelligent as that.

"Oh, God." I muttered. "Five."

I saw that Halt had already shot their eyes and injured one with about twenty arrows within a handbreadth. His quiver had to be empty, and seeing as there was a saxe knife and a throwing knife stuck in another's pelt, he was completely unarmed.

The five Kalkara spun around and tried to figure out where we were. I went for an arrow, but my hand brushed a branch. I winced as leaves rustled and the twigs snapped off. I found myself facing five Kalkara. "Umm…"

Will elbowed me. It wasn't like making one more noise would do much. "HEY!" Kory yelled from behind the Kalkara.

Halt called out too, and then everyone was shouting and the Kalkara were getting confused. I held up a fist and everyone went silent. I was hoping we could get a few shots off while they were blundering about, but with my luck, of course the wind picked up from _behind me_. My scent was carried over to them, and yet again I looked into the dull, bleeding eyes of the Kalkara.

I shot about six arrows, but then they were far too close. I dropped to the ground and rolled past them, between their feet. Will managed to get several more arrows off, before they found him. He jumped up into a tree to avoid them.

Elizabeth pulled out a small bottle and a piece of dried meat. I winced in sympathetic pain as she cut her hand and spilled some of her blood on the meat before drenching it in the liquid. She threw the meat at one of them. It bent down and picked it up. Seeming to realize it was food, it ate it.

The Kalkara then proceeded towards Elizabeth with its fellow monsters, but quickly dropped to the ground and screamed in pain before twitching its last and dying.

"Whoa…" Kory muttered from beside me.

I had to agree, even though it sent two of the remaining Kalkara towards me _yet again_. That reaffirmed my suspicions that Beth was the most dangerous person I'd ever met.

The other two Kalkara slowly edged towards the blood scent of Elizabeth, but I was distracted by a flash of silver. Kory swung his sword like it weighed absolutely nothing, and it hit one of the Kalkara… and bounced off.

The tall guy dropped to the ground and tried to do what I'd done. I had to kick him to make him go fast enough.

"Hey," I said to the Kalkara, "I'm right here."

One swung a scythe like set of claws, which I jumped away from. They still grazed the arm I'd put up to stop them from hitting vital organs, but I didn't even feel it. My heart was pounding and my mouth was dry, but my instincts had kicked in and my head was filled with a fuzz of fighting moves.

I lashed out with my knives and managed to get one through the closer one's pelt. I heard the rain of arrows from the other apprentices and caught a glimpse of the one Halt had shot falling to the ground next to Elizabeth. Kory was keeping the one Halt had hit with his knives away from Adrianne while she fired volleys into it.

Will was shooting at the one nearest me, while I stabbed it and skipped away from its counterattacks.

Annabel had given Halt half of her arrows and the two shot at the one attacking Elizabeth, not that Bess needed much help killing stuff.

Anne and Henry were fighting the fourth Kalkara, taking turns shooting it from either side and confusing it completely.

I slipped on a clump of peat and skidded down a slight raised area and into a tree root that sent me sprawling. I cursed my clumsiness, not for the first time in my life, and rolled away as the Kalkara that had been attacking me tried to stomp on me.

I did a backwards somersault and landed on my feet, my arms already thrusting my knives forward into the Kalkara. They did make hits, but a matted paw (hand?) grabbed my wrist as I pulled back. It tugged me forward and put me in a headlock.

"Great, now I'm a hostage to a creature that's supposed to be too stupid to care about anything but slaughter and silver." I said, trying to sound cheerfully ironic, but it just came across as more of me trying not to panic like I had when Harrison had attacked me.

I stopped struggling when I felt the razor sharp claws at my throat. Will dropped out of the tree silently and walked towards us _me_ and _it_.

Everyone else had to keep fighting, since the other creatures hadn't paused to investigate.

I expected Will to pull some amazing hostage-saving trick, but instead he reached into the money pouch on his belt and pulled out a handful of silver coins.

He held his hand up to the Kalkara, which (who?) sniffed at the metal and then released me. Will grabbed my arm and pushed me behind him- I immediately moved back to his side- and gave the Kalkara the coins.

The Kalkara snuffled and made some shrill noises. The other Kalkara stopped, turned, and followed the one with silver as it headed southwest.

I turned and stared at everyone.

"You mean we spent all this time fighting nearly invincible monsters when a few silver coins could have managed that?" Halt demanded, frustrated.

Will and I both whirled on him as he climbed out of the tree. "Halt O'Carrick, if you ever do anything stupid like that again, I will kill you. Attacking 5 Kalkara? You never should have gone alone in the first place! You could have died! What would I tell your wife? What would-" We yelled at him in perfect unison, and the others joined in. Will said the King and Pauline, I said Will and Crowley, and everyone else adlibbed-"Do? Go back to the cabin! And then stay in your bunk and sleep! You're not going to be training anyone for twenty-four hours, understood?"

After everyone quit laughing, Kory asked, "What if they come back?"

"The one I was fighting before they left will die…" Elizabeth looked up in thought and moved her finger up and down like factoring in aspects of something, and then finished, "In about two minutes, which should be when they're halfway to the swamp, at their speed."

"Halt, can we trade apprentices?"

Halt actually laughed at Will's pleading question. "No, I've had enough poison in my system for a lifetime." He answered.

Darn. I'd love to be Will's apprentice… Except Halt was actually a really good mentor, and I had tons of fun annoying him.

XXX

Everyone had gone to sleep, since Kalkaras aren't exactly easy to fight, but I couldn't rest. I was still worried that everything was my fault. I'd practically left a map to the cabin, after killing a Kalkara and then not making sure the others couldn't follow.

I paced back and forth outside in the woods, trying to wear myself out. I heard footsteps and spun around, only to see Will standing there. He walked over to me.

"Why are you awake?"

"I never get to sleep well after I see Kalkara." He answered.

I nodded in agreement.

"Why are you awake?"

"No reason… Will, am I really a danger magnet? If I'd covered my tracks after going to get Azaor, I wouldn't have left a scent trail straight to the cabin. If I hadn't read the files, Kory wouldn't have had a close shave with death. And then I got held as a hostage because I wasn't fast enough to pull my knives out without it grabbing my wrist."

He sighed. "That's why you're awake? Rosabel, I led the Crown Princess into a dangerous battle multiple times. I placed my trust in a so-called sorcerer many times. I helped collapse a cavern while people were still in it. It's part of being a Ranger."

I nodded again, this time slowly. "So taking risks is a Ranger's job?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Hmm… "I considered that for a moment, then decided to do my job and take a risk. I kissed him. He froze in shock for a moment before kissing me back. "I could get used to taking risks."


	11. The Gathering

**Dear ever-so-patient readers:**

**Long time no see! As a general warning, there may be more romance than blood & guts (read: Kalkara ichor). Anyway, thanks for reading and extra thanks for the kind reviews. Please review with constructive criticism so I can work on my weaknesses! **

**Yours, THM**

X_=-=/^\=-=_=-=/^\=-=_X

I am not a morning person. I do not fully function mentally until I have been awake for several pots of coffee since dawn. I don't like chipper people bouncing around me before the sun escapes the trees' highest branches.

And yet there I was, awake long before the sun had even poked more than an eighth of itself over the horizon, trying to figure out which way was up and which way was down while I clung to Belladonna's reins. "Remind me again why we're up this early?"

"We're going to the Ranger Gathering, as I've said twice." Halt snapped.

"Ooh, _twice_." Adrianne muttered. "Big whoop."

"I don't recall asking where we're going. I asked why we're up _this_ early."

"It'll take a week to get there, and even then we'll have to ride from dawn to dusk." Halt said. "So stop complaining."

I rubbed my eyes. "Why didn't we leave last week so we could rest on the way?" I asked.

"Hear, hear." Will said, with an only partially stifled yawn.

Over Horace's exaggerated fake snores, Kory asked, "Why are we coming to a _Ranger_ Gathering?"

"So you can keep your arm around Adrianne's waist, no doubt." Anne said calmly. She was one of those chipper, bouncing people.

Gilan laughed. I grabbed the nearest thing- a large spider web and a handful of leaves- and threw it at him. I missed.

It hit Halt.

"Uh-oh."

X_/`-=-'\_X

We made camp in a clearing surrounded by a few wayward pines. Halt was still giving me the silent treatment when he curled up in his cloak and gave Will first watch. Everyone fell asleep quickly, but I wasn't tired. I sat at the edge of the fire, poking the ashes where Halt had thrown the debris from his hair.

"He's not really mad at you. I've done worse." Will said, oddly wise-sounding.

I glared at him. "Sage advice from someone just four years my elder is not helping my mood."

"Sorry." He said, grinning. "I'll wait till my birthday to give you advice."

"Oh, shut up Will."

Will stood up and walked over to me, sitting down by the fire to warm his hands. "Are we ever going to talk about the night after the battle?" He asked.

"Not when we're near Elizabeth, who is currently lying awake and plotting the best way to use this particular hint of gossip."

Beth laughed and sat up. "I'll take watch if you guys want to take a walk."

"Thanks." I said.

Will stood up at the same time as me, and I walked along the path to avoid ticks. As soon as I found another wayward pine far out of earshot, I darted into it and climbed up the ladder-like branches. He tagged along like a lost dog.

When I'd gone as high up as possible without having the branch break under our combined weight, I finally looked at him.

"So… The night after the battle." I began hesitantly.

"Do you want to scratch it from the record?"

Even though it was awkward and I didn't want to spill my heart out just to be cut off, there were times when being blunt was best. Now was one of them, which is why I mentioned such times. "No. I don't know how you feel, and it's been a month, but I love you and I have ever since Gilan brought you to dinner three years ago. I've treated you like any friend of my uncle's, but you're a lot more than that, at least to me. If you don't love me, if you're not ready after Alyss, if you made a mistake, if you're using me as Alyss two-point-oh, then you can take a hike. But I love you anyway." There was a highly uncomfortable moment while Will processed that and I tried to figure out where the hell all that came from. "Awkward silence…"

He laughed suddenly and I heaved a sigh of relief.

"I see. Well, um, Alyss and you are completely different in personality and even though you look alike, I recognize that you are every inch a whole new character of your own. No one knows this, but… Alyss and I had a fight before she left. She was too calm, too bland and it was driving me insane. I was too serious, too busy… Our paths only crossed on two missions, and we weren't seeing each other nearly enough."

"I'm sure there's a point to all that somewhere, but quite frankly, I don't see it."

"I love you too." He said. "I love the Rosabel in you, not the Alyss in you." Will added when I cocked a Halt eyebrow.

**Ew. I'm already tired of this whole lovey dover stuff, so please allow me to skip ahead to (suspenseful music- wait, no, that's just cheesy) the Gathering.**

I'd been officially made a "normal" apprentice when I was put off gender-based probation, but every apprentice has to be tested originally.

You'd think that would involve a target and some weaponry, right? Of course not. No, we were taking a written history exam.

_**Morgorath:**_

_Kalkara:_

_Question 1: Which of the following metals is worshipped by Kalkara?_

_Gold_

_Iron_

_Silver_

_Steel_

I grinned as I circled c, thinking of the terrifying creatures simply walking off with a measly handful of silver coins. Then, deciding there was simply not enough emphasis on that answer, I underlined and circled it repeatedly, drawing arrows pointing to it and crossing out the other possibilities.

_Question 2: What is the Kalkara's weakness? Describe it, how it can be used by Rangers, and how it affects them._

_The Kalkara are strongly affected by fire, in that it causes whatever makes their scales so hard-packed to burn and subsequently blow them up. The flammable substance hardening their pelts seems to retain properties from the creature's apparent origin: swamps. A simple fire arrow is the remedy for a Kalkara, and any competent Ranger can shoot a fire arrow. Another, lesser understood weakness is that they so love silver that they will release a hostage and stop a battle for a few silver coins._

On and on the test went, three pages front and back. The best part was the strategy, though.

_Location: Citadel in northern Araluen_

_Assets: _

_Twenty acrobats_

_The ability to create illusions_

_Forest to retreat to_

_One Ranger_

_One highly competent knight_

_Disadvantages:_

_Open ground to cover_

_Fifty or so more than mediocre fighters helping_

_Hostage in highest tower_

_Impenetrable stone walls_

_The only way into the castle is to distract the mediocre fighters with illusions, send the acrobats across the field with cover from archers by Ranger shooting anyone with a crossbow, and then to have the acrobats scale the walls. Once inside, the acrobats can let the knight and Ranger in before fleeing. While the knight holds up the forces remaining, the Ranger can fight up into the tower and free the hostage. After they have lost their advantages and had their numbers worse than halved, the people in the castle would surrender._

I met Anne's eyes and suddenly all of us were laughing. That was just too much. "I take it everyone here is finished." Crowley said, obviously hiding a grin.

We all stood up and followed him out of the large tent. Halt was talking to a stranger quietly, and I could see enough of their faces to see them use the name Harrison many times.

"Anne, who's that Ranger?" I asked the raven-haired girl.

Anne looked up and nodded slowly, as if approving of Halt talking to him. "Aldrich Hamilton, age thirty five, mediocre by Ranger standards when it comes to creativity and ingenuity, but his physical skills are up to par."

I grinned. This was better than reading files. I pointed the Rangers out one by one, learning names and skills like there were labels on the men.

Even though I was absorbed in listening to Anne, I heard the whispering and taunting voices behind me. I know that sort of tone. It was the tone I'd been hearing ever since I was old enough to go outside. Bullies, right here in the Ranger Gathering.

"Got anything you want to say?" I said coldly, turning around ever so slowly. "Please, go ahead and say it."

There was a group of boys standing there, glaring at me. I felt Adrianne and Elizabeth move towards me, and Elizabeth took up her usual spot on my right side. Adrianne went to Beth's left and Marissa went to mine. Annabel and Anne fell slightly behind us, and Henry joined them too.

My hand fell to my saxe knife's hilt, but suddenly it felt cold. I didn't want to use the weapons. I pulled them out of their scabbards and slipped my bow from where it had been slung across my shoulders. The boys tensed, and then relaxed again as I set all three down along with my quiver.

"Go on. What have you got to say? The name's Rosabel Stalon, just in case you were going to address me."

There was a silence before they responded. "You can't be a Ranger." One of them said finally, electing to be the speaker.

I smiled coolly. "Got any evidence to back that up?"

"You're a girl."

"Guilty as charged." I said quietly. "Your point being…"

"Girls can't be Rangers." The boy said.

I rolled my eyes. "And why not?" I asked. "Please, enlighten me."

"Because they're… girls. Rangers are boys. Girls can't fight."

"Want to bet on that?" Every single one of us girls said at once.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

I looked up to see Will and Horace. Horace was glaring at the group of boys as he spoke and Will was giving me a _what-have-you-done-now-Rosabel_ look that usually only appeared on Halt's face.

"Apparently girls can't be Rangers." I commented mildly. "Any thoughts, Ranger Treaty, Sir Horace?" I added, with emphasis on the names.

The boys looked at each other and started moving away. Horace caught the spokesperson's arm and steered him back into his original position. The other boys saw the look on Will's face and froze where they were.

"These girls—no, look at them—are Ranger apprentices in their own right." Will said firmly. "Now go back to your mentors."

The boys sulked away, and I grinned at Will. I liked this place and all the gray-mottled cloaks and kindred spirits. For once, I felt like I really was a Ranger apprentice and not just a girl Ranger.

That's about when the world imploded. Ow.


	12. And Consequences of Pranking

**Dear Readers:**

**You may notice that my previous chapter had a cliff hanger. As much as I understand that suspense in writing makes people more likely to keep reading, I can't leave it at a cliffhanger on the writing side of the story any more than you can on the reading side. THM**

X_=-=/^\=-=_=-=/^\=-=_X

I believe I've mentioned I'm not a morning person. That's not strictly true. I'm not a waking up person. So waking up with a pounding headache from a concussing blow is so not on my list of fun things to do.

I'm also pretty agoraphobic. If I can't get out of someplace easily, I start freaking out. With possible hysteric giggling.

I sat up with the major head pain, blinking sleep out of my eyes and rattling manacles. "This sucks." I said.

"You can say that again." Elizabeth muttered. She was fumbling with her own manacles, trying to get to the keyholes.

The chains made it impossible to spread my wrists more than six inches apart or a foot away from the wall.

There were at least sixty of us in the room, which appeared to be a large cellar-turned-dungeon. There was a guard outside the barred door.

"Hey!" I yelled. "You in the wannabe guard uniform. Where are we?"

He ignored me.

"Fine. Be like that. But tell your master I like what he's done with the place."

Will sat up several feet from me. "Rosabel, there's no use. You should lay down, you'll make your head worse."

I looked around and realized everyone here was from the Ranger Gathering. No one was wearing a cloak, though. We were in our uniforms without the cowled camouflage cloaks, and it was so weird. Horace and Kory's chain mail was gone too.

Ransoming warriors? Duncan was sworn NOT to ransom Rangers, but all of us gone would mean Araluen's secret weapons were drained.

"What's the plan?" I asked Elizabeth.

She shrugged. "Right now?" When I nodded, she continued: "Escape."

_You don't say!_

"I think I have an idea." Everyone turned to look at me as I spoke. The guard hadn't heard, but I lowered my voice even more. "We need to annoy the guard. When they send people down to quiet us, we'll know what exactly we're up against." I whispered.

Those who'd heard passed it on, and suddenly the entire Ranger Corps plus two knights were watching me intently.

"Um… Everyone start yelling about your favorite color at the top of your lungs."

Sixty or so pairs of unblinking eyes gave me a_re-you- kidding-me_ looks. I heard Adrianne start talking, something about green and purple. Next thing I knew, grim Rangers were discussing colors loudly, voices overlapping and not pausing.

I was one of the last two people silent; Halt had grudgingly begun something about gray. Will was staring at me, looking quizzical and strangely amused, not talking. I started to say something about blue, but I met Will's eyes and found myself talking about brown eyes. Will grinned, and then joined in with support for green.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Someone shouted over all of us. I turned and I didn't like what I saw.

She had hollow cheeks, pale skin, and bright auburn hair that curved around her face, ending at her chin. Her eyes were round and blue, narrowed hostilely at me.

Without realizing that everyone had gone silent and that I'd be heard pretty easily, I muttered, "Celina Rodgers."

X_=-=/^\=-=_=-=/^\=-=_X

I was certainly glad to be out of the dungeon, but being at the mercy of my oldest enemy was _so_ not an improvement.

"So…" Celina said coldly. "You've gone far, haven't you?"

"Just over a few fiefs." I answered, deliberately misinterpretating her words as I tried to figure out a way to break the manacles holding me to the chair.

"You think you're funny, don't you? You always have. Everyone _loves_ perfect little bubbly _Rosabel_, she's so innocent and cute and sweet."

"Is that what this is about? I was seven, Celina! Of course I played stupid, dangerous pranks on people. I didn't know you'd get hurt."

"But I did!"

"We're not children anymore! We're grown up and we need to be mature. Why can't you put this grudge behind you and go back to your life?"

"You destroyed my life. I have no life to go back to."

X_=-=/^\=-=_=-=/^\=-=_X

_I woke up and started freaking out. I've heard of out-of-body experiences and I'd also heard that they usually happen when the person was dying or crazy._

_I was watching my younger self, a cute little blonde child with wide blue eyes and limbs covered in bruises and scrapes. I—she was tucking a tiny packet of salt peter and sulfur into a fireplace._

_A moment later, I heard a door open and she ran to hide in a cupboard, peeking out. Another girl of seven years came inside, set down the loom she carried everywhere, and knelt on the hearth to stir the fire back to life._

_Instead of walking away when it flared up, she paused to examine the rug. The little girl had tripped over the rug when she ran from the fireplace, and it was bunched up._

_When the pouch lit, it exploded with purple flames, but when it scared the second girl, all she could do was throw out her hands to keep the fire from reaching her face._

_The first girl ran out of the cupboard and put out the fire. She knelt beside the other girl and tried desperately to help her._

X_=-=/^\=-=_=-=/^\=-=_X

"Rosabel?" Will said quietly in my ear. I opened my eyes and felt a rush of pain. "Oh, thank God. Your pulse was slow for a while there."

"Where are we?"

"Don't you remember? The Gathering spot blew up? We made noise until our captor came down, and then she took you upstairs for five minutes or so."

"Sulfur and salt peter." I said, somewhat incoherently.

"What?"

"That's what Celina used to blow up the Gathering."

Elizabeth's head poked into my field of view. "Not very helpful, Rosabel. How do you know her? What are her weaknesses?"

"We grew up together. I played a prank on her and it went wrong. Her hands are covered in scars from being badly burnt. I'd imagine she can't do much fighting herself."

"Are the burns and your prank related?" Adrianne asked.

"Yes." Gilan said for me. "She nearly didn't get into the Corps because of it."

I realized my head was in Will's lap, and Halt was dabbing at my head with a piece of cloth. Celina must've punched me pretty hard for everyone to look so concerned.

"Anyone have an idea?" I asked.

Henry spoke from somewhere behind Halt. "Well, you're the only one without manacles on. So it's all up to you to get us out."

I heard several people groan in despair. Even though I kinda wanted to do the same, I started into my hysterical giggling.

"Does anyone have anything on them, anything at all, that might help me pick the locks on you all's manacles?"

"I have three needles and a hairpin." Elizabeth said. "I also have a file and a clothes pin."

I nodded slowly, considering possible escape routes. "We'll need a distraction." I said finally.

Everyone looked right at me. Crap.

"Okie dokie, I'm the distraction. Um, I'll pick the locks on Halt and Elizabeth's manacles and while I distract our dear friends upstairs, you guys unlock everyone else."

"Why me and Halt?"

"I figure that out of everyone here, you're the two most likely to be good at lock-picking."

My friends laughed and I sat up slowly. Will, Gilan, Halt, Marissa, Adrianne, and Elizabeth hurried to help me sit up. Anne, Annabel, and Henry watched with concern, a little too far away to do much.

"What's your plan?" Horace asked.

"I'll make it up as I go along."

X_=-=/^\=-=_=-=/^\=-=_X

"Why do you want to talk to me?" Celina demanded.

_To stall any hostage killing and distract you while my friends escape, of course. You really do suck at this villainy thing._ Out loud, I said, "We need to talk. Why did you kidnap the entirety of Araluen's Ranger Corps?"

"Ransom with the added bonus of revenge."

"You don't say! But what will you do with the ransom money? Buy a barony in Gallica?"

"Yes. But money isn't all I want."

"I'm pretty sure you already mentioned the revenge thing." I reminded her. "Unless there's anything new to add?"

"I want Harrison."

I had a funny feeling this wasn't going to end well for me. Old prank victim, guy I got convicted of treason, all my friends and most of my family in the dungeons, multiple head injuries… It was just not my week.

"Oh? How's that old chap doing, anyway?"

Celina bitch slapped me. "I loved him." She snarled.

This just gets better and better.

I don't know how long Celina raged, screaming about how crappy her life had been after I'd made it impossible for her to ever weave again, but I do know that even I was feeling bad for her at the end of it. Except for the whole everyone-I-know-and-love-except-my-father being in her dungeons. Semantics, you know.

"Ever learn to fight, Celina?" I asked tiredly at the end of the tirade.

"Yes."

"Any good?"

She stopped pacing angrily and started glaring angrily. I'm not sure it was an improvement. "Yes."

"How about a little spar? Come on, I'm injured and at your mercy. I know you want to. Let's settle this once and for all."

"Why should I trust you?"

"I'm tired, Celina. I don't want to sit in the dungeons, rotting away for the ransom that will never save me. I know you hate me and want me dead in the worst kind of way, and I just want it all to end. We both get what we want this way."

"You're lying."

"I haven't got anything to lie for. My freedom, my life? It's not really a toss-up whether or not I'll live. My comrades, my family and friends? The King will ransom them out."

Celina perked up. "Friends?" She asked.

Oops.

X_=-=/^\=-=_=-=/^\=-=_X

"I know at least some of you are close to this piece of slime," Celina said. ("Hey!" I said angrily, with little response from my _dear_ old friend.) "Now, who are you?"

There was a silence as I fought to keep from looking at any of them. Her knife was a little too close to my neck for comfort, but if I gave them away…

"No one? Well, you won't mind if I slit her throat, then, will you?"

She feigned bringing the knife up to my jugular, but really it barely scratched the skin. Will moved lightning fast, throwing himself against the bars and lashing out with his bare hands. All my other friends were seconds behind him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't your Uncle Gilan and your partner in crime, Marissa."

"If it isn't them, I guess it isn't them." I said. Then, "Wait, what? That made no sense what… so… erm, ever…" I trailed off.

"But this _is_ strange. Why did this boy move to your aide faster than even your best friend?"

I realized she meant Will. The young Ranger was glaring back at Celina, totally unable to control himself now that I was in an impossibly dangerous situation.

"Because I saved his life. Didn't Harrison tell you? Will was dying of the Sickness, and I went into the swamps alone, fought off a Kalkara, and found azaor."

"Guards? Bring that one out and then return the other to their manacles. Oh, and take the lock-picking tools from the grizzled one and the tiny girl." Celina said lazily.

Will continued giving Celina a hateful glare as five burly men tried to keep the Rangers held back and three fought with a furious Will, but I was a little bit too busy freaking out to tell him he was simply confirming her suspicions.

"Wait… Bring all of them out. Every single one of the people who moved when I threatened the girl."

I watched Gilan get dragged by, grinning a grin that never reached his eyes and chatting with the guard cheerfully.

Annabel was calling the guards words I've never even heard Skandians use, let alone delicate blonde girls.

Elizabeth was calmly telling the four guards trying to pin her down to let her go.

Adrianne went kicking and biting and screaming threats and such.

Halt was completely silent and almost certainly up to something. Crowley also walked out without fighting at all. The old friends shared a glance that I barely caught and I wondered what their plan was.

Marissa was borrowing a few words from Annabel and fighting tirelessly.

Anne had yet to be caught. Whenever a guard went towards her, she moved impossibly fast to the opposite side of the huge cell.

Henry, Kory, and Horace were helping Will with the twelve men. The four guys were winning. Maybe if it was twelve to one, they'd be able to do something. But three to one odds were simply not in their favor.

And if you think Celina had an easy time with me, you've got another thing coming. I had bitten through the skin on a guard's wrist and almost to the bone, scratched skin off of arms until my clothes were soaked with scarlet blood, and kicked in at least three ribcages. And I'm also pretty sure half of the men who came within six feet of me at any point in time were not going to reproduce any time soon, if ever.

But more and more men came pouring into the makeshift dungeons, and even though the Ranger Corps was all on its feet and out of their manacles shortly after the fight began, we were losing.

If each riot only needed one Ranger, this was close to sixty riots all bundled into one.

"Rosabel, we need to improvise some sort of plan." Anne said. I don't know where she'd come from, but there she was, speaking right into my ear. "There's got to be more men upstairs. You need to distract them and get the weapons. Can you get away from these ones?"

"Only if you promise to make sure they don't go anywhere."

"Consider it done. Now hurry."

"How do I distract them?"

"Make it up as you go along, of course."

And with that, she shoved me into the stairwell. I pushed about twenty guards down the stairs in a domino effect and ran across their backs while they were stilled stunned.

It was quiet upstairs, and I closed the heavy oak door to muffle more of the sound. Careful to bolt it behind me, I moved silently around the corner. I poked my head out, only to pull it back in when I saw a crowd of six men standing near the front door.

_How the heck do I distract them?_ I wondered. Then, in a not-so-rare fit of mirth, I strolled out and said, "Evening, gentleman."

They moved towards me, and I realized these ones actually had weapons, which they were pulling out of their scabbards. I grabbed a wall candelabrum and brandished it threateningly before bursting into laughter. They made the crucial mistake of hesitating long enough to mentally go _Wait, what?_ I charged with my candle holder (oh, shut up. It's not THAT funny) and ignored the sticks of wax falling off. I caught four of the swords and pulled them away from their owners.

I put my boot firmly on two of them and picked up the other two, leaving the candelabrum lying on the ground. "Look, I'm a Ranger. I was trained by Halt and I'm friends with Will Treaty and the Oakleaf Knight, and I'm under the protection of the King. I use dark magic, I'm really mad because my friends and family and the guy I love are all down in that cellar with my comrades, and I have two swords. I suggest you leave now, before I get annoyed at the six of you in particular. And leave the swords." I added, as they started to run away.

By the time the two blades clattered against the floor, their owners were out of sight.

It took a while, but I found a way to carry six swords with only two available hands. Seriously, you don't want to know. The hard part, though, was carrying them AND unlocking the door to the cellar AND avoiding the tangled-up guards and Rangers that came pouring out when I unlatched it.

Most of the guards were scrambling to escape. Whatever had happened while I was gone, it was working. First just one or two ran, and then I was once again standing in a sea of gray and green clad Rangers without their cloaks and not one guard.

I looked around. Halt, Gilan, Crowley, Annabel, Anne, Henry, Kory, Horace, Elizabeth, Adrianne, Marissa…

"Where's Will?" I asked. "And where's Celina?"

As if on cue, Celina dragged Will into view. He wasn't struggling, and I could see why. There was a knife at his throat and he was bruised almost beyond recognition in addition to limping.

"Will!"

I wasn't sure who all said it, but I know for a fact I said it, Elizabeth said it, Halt did, Crowley, Horace, and Gilan. Any other people saying it were drowned out. I could tell Halt was faking the exasperation in his voice, and I heard all the pain in Horace's voice.

But Will was in mortal danger because of two of my own personal enemies.

"Okay, Celina. The years of you trying to frame me for all sorts of crimes, I probably deserved. The concussion I probably deserved. The injuries from that battle I probably deserved. You punching me I definitely deserved. But this… You need to get the hell over it. Let go of Will or I swear, I'll-"

I lost track of most of what happened in the little blur of movement that followed my words, but I do know that she let go of Will, who collapsed to the ground with a pool of blood under him.

Halt and Horace reached Will first, but Elizabeth and Gilan were there within seconds.

I jumped over them and crashed into Celina's side. We were both thrown to the floor, where we immediately attempted to strangle each other.

The other Rangers were gone in a flash, and I heard Crowley ordering them to split up. They were looking for our gear, it seemed.

Beth hesitated before climbing over Will and helping me.

"Beth, go help Will." I growled, intermittently gasping for air around Celina's chokehold. "This fight is personal."

"Hell yeah, it's personal. She kidnapped the Rangers, blew up the Gathering, attacked my best friend, nearly killed my mentor, and oh-by-the-way set huge men on us."

"Yeah, she chose the wrong Corps to screw with." Adrianne said, grabbing one of Celina's arms and freeing my airways.

Elizabeth took the other arm and I dodged a strong blow from Celina's feet. As she lashed out again, Anne grabbed her foot and held it where it was, up in the air. Henry appeared and helped me pin her other leg down. She was still thrashing, making us have to adjust our grip often, and at this rate she'd escape. Marissa had her hands firmly holding down her shoulders.

Kory ran over and handed me something wooden. It took a moment for me to recognize them as the Ranger-issued cuffs that held the thumbs of a prisoner together.

Adrianne flipped Celina over quickly. While she was disoriented, Beth held her arms together and I sealed the cuffs around her thumbs.

Celina must have realized she'd been beaten and stopped moving, becoming just a limp, pathetic shape of a girl who'd concentrated on the loss of her weaving ability for so long she forgot to live.

I sat down and looked over at Will exhaustedly. He was being helped up by Horace and Halt, and I realized that there was a thin scrape on his neck. Wow, Celina really sucked at slitting throats.

With all the excitement over, I remembered my head. It was throbbing and I was having issues figuring out which way was up and which way was down.

Gilan leaned over me, looking concerned and really far away like I was looking at him from the end of a tunnel. He looked really weird, too. "Are you okay, Rosabel?"

"Do you hear buzzing?" I asked.

**Thanks for reading and please review with constructive criticism so I can get better! PS Don't get too attached to any of the girl apprentices, because in one of the next few chapters, one will almost certainly die. If you've got an opinion on which one should die, please review and tell me.**


	13. Trial, With a Side of Error

"Rosabel."

You know how I hate waking up? Well, when someone prods me right in the ribs and calls my name before dawn on a holiday, I REALLY hate waking up. "Go away!"

"Excuse me?"

I jolted awake. It was Halt. "I said, Good day." I lied quickly and totally unconvincingly.

"_Sure_ you did. Coffee?" I blinking sleep out of my eyes and made out the face of Elizabeth. She was holding out a mug, and I didn't hesitate in taking it and gulping it down really quickly despite the fact that it scalded my tongue. She swept out with the empty pot, hopefully to make a new one.

"Mmm, t'anks." After I drained the entire cup and figured out which way was up, I managed a coherent question. "Why am I awake?"

"The trials are both today." Halt said.

"Why are they on a holiday?"

"The King just happens to be free today."

"THE KING?"

"Yes, Rosabel, the King tries all cases involving treason."

"Um, um, um, wait… Celina didn't commit- oh, yeah, kidnapping the Ranger Corps."

"Where is your brain in the mornings, Rosabel?"

I climbed out of my bunk and slipped my boots on. "Sleeping, like any living thing should be at any point in time before dawn."

+-^-:-^-:-^-+

"Horace, why haven't you married Cassandra yet?"

The knight turned bright red at my blunt question. "Um…"

"Cassandra didn't want to hold a marriage too quickly after Alyss and Jenny died." Will answered for him.

"Well, it's been two years. Shouldn't you get it over with quickly? Especially since you, your apprentice, and your best friend are hanging out with a danger magnet like me."

"You're extremely blunt." Kory commented. "Most Rangers hedge around stuff."

I shrugged. "Well, I'm hedging by being blunt." I told him, and then waited for his brow to furrow in confusion. I didn't have to wait long.

"I don't know what worries me more: Kory thinking or you making sense when you're talking gibberish." Halt commented.

I grinned at the taciturn Ranger. "I always make sense, Halt, except for when I don't."

Will laughed. I was sitting between him and Kory on a bench in the anteroom between some corridor and the throne room. Halt and Crowley were on Will's other side, and Horace was beside Kory.

Only we'd come. Will had come in to testify on the Celina case, I was there for both, and Kory was there for the Harrison shenanigans. Halt and Horace were there because of us apprentices, and Crowley was a necessary part of any case involving Rangers. And these two treason cases certainly did.

"The King will see you now." A quiet feminine voice said.

I turned and saw the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. She was a few years older than me. Her blonde hair was more gold than mine's ash blonde, and her green eyes were brighter and not tinted with gray and hazel the way mine were. Half of it was pulled back into a bun, but the rest fell down past her shoulders and _behaved_. As if it wasn't enough that she was flawless, she was wearing a green brocade dress and a small silver tiara.

There I was (in slightly worn down lace up boots, a dull tunic made from rough cotton, a mottled cloak, and dark leggings in yet another dull color with my frizzy hair loose) right next to the freaking Crown Princess.

_Okay, maybe I should have put more thought into my outfit_. But then again, I had a reputation as a badass Ranger girl to uphold.

It also occurred to me that I was also supposed to bow- erm, curtsey- to royalty. I decided to bow. Reputation, you know.

Kory practically scraped the floor as he tried to both bow and kneel at the same time, but I managed a neat little bow without impaling myself on the hilts of my two knives.

"I'll go out on a limb and say you're Rosabel."

"Yep. Erm… Yes, your Highness."

I heard Will stifle a laugh and fought the urge to kick him in the shins. I didn't win that particular skirmish.

"Oh, Father is going to really have his hands full. Now, Halt, I was just talking to Pauline and she said to tell you to behave."

Halt huffed and swept off in a green and gray blur and Crowley followed him. Horace went over to his fiancée and I looked away to give them privacy. My eyes met Will's and we both glanced away quickly before hurrying into the throne room after Kory, who was pretending to gag at Horace and Cassandra.

I'd barely managed to reach the spot where Halt was standing when they half-dragged Harrison in. He had his head hung. It occurred to me that Harrison had gone through rigorous training for his country and suddenly I wondered how someone could go so wrong.

Will was watching from several meters away, with Lady Pauline and a few other spectators. He nodded just once, reassuring me (or at least trying to. I was about a heartbeat away from giggling hysterically). His face was a mask. When we were in Seacliff, with only Rangers around, Will rarely put on a "Halt" face, but the minute we'd rode out of the training area and onto the ferry, he'd turned into a grim statue.

Halt explained everything he knew of and read off the official report. I noticed he'd left out the important part that made everything make sense and also made me guilty of some serious charges.

"Rosabel Stalon, apprentice of Halt O'Carrick, what do you have to add?"

"Hmm? Oh, um…" I looked over at Halt again and wondered if I should mention the fact that I'd snooped in official Ranger files. "Well, I never should have found out he was a traitor to begin with. I read Crowley's official files and I had this feeling someone was watching me but I couldn't see anyone. And then I nearly died three times in two days and I figured out that someone was trying to kill me. So I naturally went to my mentor and told him about a few of the facts in the files contradicting each other. He didn't tell me to reread the files and instead intended to wait for Crowley to return.

"But instead, I asked Kory to help me since I could trust him and him alone out of all the people in the camp. He came a day after I nearly died. Anyway, we went through the files again and I found that it was Harrison's file that held the contradictions."

"That's treason, Milord." King Duncan's councilor commented.

The King held up a hand. "Noted. Kory Thompson, have you anything that would contradict or add to these statements?"

"No, Your Majesty."

Will stepped forward and I shot him a questioning glance, which he either ignored or didn't see. "I think it should be noted that Rosabel stalled Harrison with great skill and kept her panic at bay until after the danger had passed." He said.

"Duly noted. Halt O' Carrick, is it your opinion that Rosabel Stalon ought to be permitted to go unpunished and retain her status as a fully instated Ranger apprentice?"

"Absolutely, your Majesty."

"No further action pertaining to that charge may be pursued against Rosabel Stalon. How do you plead to these charges of treason, Harrison Clarkson?" King Duncan asked finally.

"Guilty, your Majesty."

"I have but two options of punishment for treason. I pass the sentence of—"

"If I may, your Majesty." I interrupted. Duncan nodded just once. "I don't think you should execute him. He served Araluen loyally for many years, and he's not the first to be corrupted."

"Be as that may, Lady Stalon, I cannot release such a highly trained warrior to aide our possible enemies."

"There's no possible about it." Harrison said quietly. "They're coming. If it makes my death a quick affair, I'll tell you all I know of their plans." He added.

King Duncan looked at Harrison for a long time. "I pass the sentence of execution." The King said finally. "Court dismissed. Harrison, Sir Horace, and Princess Cassandra can remain. We'll resume with the second trial in three hours."

I didn't hesitate in getting out of the opulent throne room and running out into the corridor, where I found a window nook and used my cloak to vanish from sight. I slipped down the wall and sat with my head against the windowsill.

Kory went by, obviously trying to pick out my shape from the shadowy gray stone. Being a knight and a mere apprentice at that, he totally missed me. After a long time, I heard Will's familiar footsteps.

"Hey." He said, finding me immediately.

"This is going to kill Celina."

"Celina? Is that why you tried to get him a lesser sentence?"

"Kind of. Is being a Ranger always going to involve sending men you can't hate to their deaths? I know he's a turncoat and I can't stand traitors one bit, but the thought of a fellow Ranger…"

"I don't know. I've never helped convict a Ranger of treason."

"Lucky you."

He helped me stand up and didn't let go of my hands afterwards. "Can you handle another trial? The King sent Cassandra out to tell us that he'd be done in a few minutes."

"Are you going to testify with me?"

"Well, it's not really necessary. Do you want me to?"

"If you're not going to be up there, I'll kill you." I answered cheerfully.

"How could I refuse?"

+-^-:-^-:-^-+

**So, folks, that's today's second chapter. It's short by my standards, but I'm thinking I'll update with an even shorter one again today. That'll be three updates in one day, meaning I'll written a little over two fanfiction chapters today. No action this time, but I promise to put PLENTY in the chapter after the next chapter, which will be when Araluen is invaded. And probably when the girl dies. Thanks for reading and please review with constructive criticism! Kthanxbye. -THM**


	14. No One Messes With the Ranger Corps

Executions aren't very common in Araluen. The King is a good one and he's lenient, but he's not an idiot. Releasing a couple of lovers (who both happen to have grudges against me), one of whom is a former Ranger and extremely well-trained, into the hands of an army planning on invading Araluen isn't just stupid and risky, it's… well, it's REALLY stupid and risky.

When an execution does happen… People crowd around said execution. Much like mortal combat, violent death is the cheapest form of entertainment.

"Have you ever seen an execution before, Will?" I asked quietly.

He shook his head. "No. I don't understand why so many people want to, either, before you ask."

The entire Ranger Corps was there, looking even more somber than usual. And believe me, that's HARD as all get out. One of our own—be though as it may that he was a traitor—was dying here today. Everyone gave us a wide berth, even forgoing spots close to the execution block to avoid us.

"Do you think Harrison and Celina deserve this, Halt?" Adrianne asked. "A huge public affair being made out of their deaths?"

Halt looked like he wasn't going to answer, but every single apprentice (yes, including the gaggle of bullies) and a few of the younger Rangers were listening intently. "No." He said shortly.

"Celina does. She used up almost half of the saltpeter in Araluen. That's going to deplete my stores." Three guesses who that was. If your guess started with "Eliza" and ended with "beth", you're right.

"Seriously, though, what do you think?" Adrianne asked Beth.

Elizabeth's face turned terrifyingly cold and her lip curled. "He's nothing more than a traitor."

The innocent-looking (emphasis on the LOOKING part) Bessie returned just as quickly as she'd vanished. I exchanged a slightly freaked out glance with Adrianne, Kory, and Will.

Then I heard the drums and looked up to see Harrison and Celina coming out. They weren't being half-dragged like they'd been in the trials, but walking on their own accord. They were somehow holding hands even with their hands tied together. Harrison stopped dead in front of the green and gray clad figures and looked right at me.

Oh, great, now I'd be "that Ranger chick the traitor was talking to."

"Rosabel… Good luck. You'll make a great Ranger."

My jaw dropped. Seriously, he was being nice to me? That was more annoying than cussing me out!

A guard shoved him along. Crowley stuck out an arm and said something along the lines of "show some respect". Funny thing, the guard obeyed. Must be that Dark magic stuff again, hmm?

Harrison stood in front of the tightknit Corps he betrayed and said quite simply, "Sorry."

Even though I really didn't want to watch someone get their head chopped off, I couldn't tear my eyes away.

Celina murmured something in Harrison's ear and then he was led away. I stepped out of the ranks of the Rangers (now I was the Ranger chick consorting with traitors—it just gets better and better) and scarcely glanced at the guards before they moved out of my way.

"Celina—" I said quietly while the annoying councilor guy (Lord Anthony? Something preppy like that) read off the charges and formalities.

"Don't think the fact that I'm being calm about this as me forgiving you. I'm just at peace because you will get what you deserve."

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Rosabel, you're supposed to be smart. Do you feel close any of the Rangers? Do you feel like they _understand_ you? You're being tested every single day. Everything you think you know is a lie. Rangers are paid to play mind tricks. It's their job. Ever since Gilan found out you wanted to be a Ranger, things have been happening. Your mother and Alyss died, right? That opened up Will. And then when you got in, Will got sick, didn't he? You were tested on bravery then, but you almost ruined everything for yourself when you snooped in the decoy files. You couldn't be trusted. But before they could dispose of you, you showed amazing initiative and employed Kory to help. You stalled Harrison and managed to fight your panic, but you lost it the second it seemed the danger was over. Then you proved you had pretty good instincts and proactivity when you disobeyed an order that would've killed Halt. But you nearly failed the test again when you failed to stay out of the clutches of the Kalkara. You did, however, fight well enough that Will got you out of it. Then they tested your professional attitude. That one you flunked, kissing Will. You stood up to the bullies, and that saved you again. You failed at making a good plan in the dungeons, but then you successfully got rid of the other guards and fought well enough with serious injuries."

She was talking fast, but I was a master at understanding that because I did it myself.

While I stood there feeling oddly numb as a lot of things clicked into place, I heard the drumbeat speed up. I glanced up just in time to see the executioner raise the sword.

Suddenly, the executioner fell backwards with a flash of silver. Half the crowd turned on the guards and dragged them away. Harrison was freed by one man, and I was jostled away from Celina as she was freed by another.

Without even pausing to see if my suspicions were right, I went for my bow and started moving away from the couple from hell. If they were escaping, they'd have one target and that'd be me.

I heard someone roar my name and saw my father run towards me. He intercepted the knife Harrison threw at me and then fell backwards, knocking me flat and pinning me to the ground.

There was a lot of shouting and I lost track of everyone, mostly because I was oxygen-deprived from the bulk of my seven foot tall knight of a father on my chest.

I must have passed out, but then I could breathe again and my face was dripping with warm liquid.

My first thought was, WHAT THE HECK, HALT? And then I realized it wasn't water someone had dumped on me. If Halt had dumped water on me to wake me up for training, it would have been ice cold.

My eyelashes were stuck together. It reminded me of the time I'd gotten mead poured on me in a prank that went awry (in the funny, darn-it-I'm-drenched-in-an-alcoholic-beverage-again kind of awry, not the oops-just-made-the-prissy-brat-next-door-my-lifetime-enemy awry). The sugar had made me all sticky, and it had clumped on my eyelashes especially.

When I managed to open my eyes, everything was dotted with scarlet. Including my eyelashes. I tried to rub my eyes, thinking it was another side effect of the concussion plus lack of air for undetermined amount of time. My hands were halfway to my face when I realized they were red-smeared too.

Red liquid everywhere? I wondered where the paint can was. (Yes, that was dumb. My brain sleeps in after I wake up, remember?)

"Rosabel, are you hurt?" Will asked.

I shook my head. "I think my ribs are bruised, but otherwise… Whose blood is this? Oh, God, this is going to be a nightmare to get out of my hair."

"Um… I think there's something you should see." Will said quietly. He put an arm around my waist and heaved me to my feet. "Over here."

I went with him, somewhat disoriented. I could tell that it was a large person lying on the cobblestones and drenched in blood. When my eyes came into focus, my heart stopped.

Gilan was holding Marissa while she sobbed into his shoulder. Elizabeth and Adrianne were looking at me fearfully, with a lot of pity. Halt's face was even more grim than usual, and he had a hand on Marissa's shoulder. I looked down at the body, knowing who it was and wishing I didn't.

I could handle near death experiences with only a little hysterical giggling; I could shoot a wasp out of the air from thirty meters away; I could kill a Kalkara; I could escape a prison with a few hairpins, a needle, and a file; I could spot discrepancies in top secret files; I could sedate toads with enough precision to have them wake up within ten minutes of my goal; I could walk past the nose of a sentry two feet away without making a sound and remain unseen.

And, apparently, I could turn the wave of grief, the one that comes with being orphaned by your two arch enemies while they escape with the help of the army that's about to destroy your county, into cold indifference. And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

"Rosabel?" Will said quietly, as if testing the waters.

"We'll have to make the funeral a very short occasion. We'll be attacked soon enough, if there are that many Gallican soldiers in Castle Araluen. We Rangers should all go to find the army. An army of Rangers is like sixty armies of archers."

Will's face went from concern to outright oh-my-God-someone-broke-my-girlfriend in seconds. "Are you alright?"

I felt strangely cold. "Yes." I told him.

Elizabeth came over to me, waved a hand in front of my face, and then turned to Will. "I prescribe some ice cold revenge on a silver platter." He didn't look amused. "Though if you're looking for something to alleviate the symptoms, I hear kissing can help with that."

"You mean…" Kory's jaw dropped. "Oh my God, they're a couple?"

I had to laugh at that. I would deal with the grief after the war. For now…

"Elizabeth…" I said slowly, "What's the most excruciatingly painful, rare, incurable, slow-acting poison?" I fingered the fletches on my arrows as I spoke.

"Aracoina." Halt answered suddenly.

Will and Horace flinched at the same time. I felt a small smile work its way across my face. I'd heard stories of a poison that had barely reached Halt's bloodstream and turned the strong Ranger into a gibbering invalid within twelve hours. I'd also heard about the difficulty of finding out which variety had been used.

"See, I knew I'd convert her in the end." Elizabeth said with relish. "Come, Rosabel. I'll tell you a few of my personal favorites and we'll mix up a nice little batch of poison."

"Can you find two whose antidotes counteract each other even though the regular poisons don't?"

"I think I know of three that you can combine to do that…"

I followed her across the courtyard, listening intently. The other apprentices caught up, all suggesting strategy. Kory mentioned a new formation the army was using and Adrianne suggested arrows with barbs so they went in easy and were hard to pull out. Anne advised guerilla warfare while Henry discussed the benefits of the sulfur and saltpeter packets with Marissa. Annabel made a wager with Elizabeth on who would kill the most enemy soldiers.

No one messes with the Ranger Corps.


	15. All's Unfair With Love and War

**I'd like to forewarn you that this chapter is really long, even by my standards. Special thanks to "Luvergirlof books" who has reviewed each of my chapters religiously.**

"Duck!" I yelled to Kory. He dropped to the ground just in time to avoid one of the missiles. We—meaning the Rangers—had made a trebuchet fireproof with a metal casing, and then we'd turned it over to Elizabeth.

When she wasn't ambushing sentries in the woods just for fun, she was gathering bracken and brambles, which she wove into little spheres about one foot in diameter. They allowed her to stuff packets of flammable substances and explosive stuff (like pine cones and bamboo) into the missiles. Just when you thought it was safe to come stomp out the flames, something else would explode in a cloud of thorns and spiky shards of bamboo.

The war had started a few weeks previously. You know, "this is your last chance to leave Araluen and hand over the traitors" followed by Gallican gobbledegook that seemed to mean "prepare to die, green ones."

Halt understands Gallic enough that he was severely annoyed. One of the men in the little party that meets to get through the formalities before the battle (the last chance stuff) had called him something that Kory informed me meant "green grandfather."

I'm just annoyed that they call us green ones instead of the more accurate green/gray/brown/some-other-neutral-color ones.

Anyway, Crowley agreed with us apprentices that it'd give the Gallicans a little more than they bargained for to have all sixty Rangers (and about a hundred knights handpicked by Horace and Will's Skandian friends) meet them at their invasion base, a little town they'd infiltrated at about the same time we were fighting the Kalkara.

Despite sixty Rangers with a wagonload of arrows picking off their soldiers one at a time, we weren't doing so well. We'd lost two knights, a Ranger, and a Skandian in just one week. The rest of the army was still gathering and training last minute while we held off the enemy.

"Thanks, Rosabel." Kory said, managing to make it over to me without getting injured. I'd never realized how much noise armour makes. "How do you sit so still for so long?"

I'd been sitting in the lower branches of dead pine tree all day and helping make more arrows in addition to weaving bracken. "Mad skills, Kory."

He laughed. "Sure, sure." The knight apprentice flopped onto the branch, making it creak threateningly.

"So, what's up with you and Adrianne?"

"She's glued to Elizabeth, who spends all her time playing up that young Skandian guy."

"Thoran?"

"Yeah."

"I know the feeling. Will and Horace are never apart, and what with _Evanlyn_ being here, neither of them thinks of anyone else."

"Isn't Will too old for you?"

"My mother was six years older than my father, and Will and I are just four years apart."

Halt appeared out of nowhere. "I was looking for you two. Go find some firewood so we can cook tonight. And for heaven's sake, don't get killed. Kory, I think you should leave the armour here." And just like that, he vanished again in a gray-green blur.

Kory fumbled with the fastenings on his armour. "Here, I can help you get that."

"You know fish and you know armour?" He said as I carefully set his armour down, hanging the chainmail over the branches.

I grinned. "My father was a knight, remember?" When he didn't respond, I stood up quickly. "We, um, should be going."

We were silent while we hacked at dead logs.

I found a stack of firewood next to a dead body. It was a Gallican soldier. I saw white foam and decided it was Elizabeth's work. When I carried it back over to where Kory was trying to cut down a dead tree with his sword, he glared.

"Why are you better at everything?"

"Rangers are just better than knights."

"I bet you can't beat me in a sword fight." My hand fell to the hilt of my saxe knife. "No, I mean a real one. Sword against sword." He tossed me a one inch thick branch about the length of your average sword.

Without any warning, he ran at me and swung his own branch in an arc of brownish gray. I concentrated, factoring in the speed and force behind the overhand right swing.

I snapped out my own staff and parried the blow. "You don't have to go easy on me. I'm Gilan's niece, remember?"

Then the fight really began. He lunged, I knocked the blow aside; he swung and I parried; I swung and he parried; back and forth, each of us attempting to pull all sorts of tricks.

I got bored and brought it down in an overhand backhand, which he moved to parry. At the last second, I rotated my wrist and thrust it into his stomach. Then I twirled in a remarkably feminine fashion, which sent my tunic spinning, and stopped his blows as he tried to lash out one last time.

I pressed the end of my sword into the spot between his shoulder blades. "Do you surrender?"

He spun around and knocked the branch out of my hand. "Do you?" But Kory made the mistake of keeping his "sword point" a few inches away from my chest. I kicked my "sword" into the air and caught it as he lunged forward in an attempt to stop me.

We ended up standing just an inch or so apart, the branches crossed in an x between us. His face was framed by the two wooden blades.

Kory was grinning and panting for air. I had barely noticed it, but we'd been putting a lot of energy into the fight and my wrist was numb from the clashing of the branches.

I don't think either of us knew what we were doing, but suddenly we were kissing.

I'd only ever kissed one person (besides my family members) and that was Will, just the once. Where kissing Will was like fighting—simultaneously an oh-my-God-this-is-way-too-intense, electricity-before-the-storm feeling and a hmm-I-could-get-used-to-this-kind-of-adrenaline-rush-if-it-wasn't-for-the-oh-my-God-this-is-way-too-intense-thingy feeling—kissing Kory was like hanging out by the river in the willow tree or reading a good novel in the armchair by the fireplace in the library. Fire and water, as it were.

And while I'd always had a thing for brown eyes, the way you could look into Kory's blue eyes and get lost was quite tantalizing.

"You can never, ever mention this to anyone. Especially not Adrianne or Will." Kory told me fiercely as I stared off into the forest, horrified.

"Believe me, I have no intention of that." I said, my voice shaking. "But I seriously doubt I'd have to, even if I wanted to."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, well, you know, the usual… Gilan's standing right behind you."

_/v\_/^\_/v\_/^\_/v\_

"You had better explain what the hell that was. My best friend's girlfriend and my apprentice's boyfriend kissing in the woods? In what world is that acceptable?"

"In any world where your best friend is dating your apprentice." I suggested meekly.

"Don't think you can joke your way out of this one, Rosabel!" Gilan snapped. "And you, Kory. I thought knights were taught honor!"

"Gil, it was a mistake, okay? We were sword-fighting and all hyped up and we're both having problems with our relationships! Will's running off with Horace and Evanlyn, and Adrianne is gallivanting with Bess and Thoran!"

Gilan softened. "I think the two of you need to talk to Halt and Crowley about this."

"Crowley isn't my mentor, though." Kory said.

I refrained from yelling "duh!" just barely.

"I don't think you need to mix Horace up in this. They're old enough to have, erm, experience in these areas."

"I don't know, Gilan, you should be getting up there…"

He sighed and pointed me towards the camp. I hurried out, quickly blending into the woods so Kory couldn't follow me.

_/v\_/^\_/v\_/^\_/v\_

I was getting more and more frustrated with every second. Though we'd asked Crowley and Halt to meet us in the relatively large clearing, there simply wasn't enough space between me and Kory to make me stop feeling like a slut. "Are you done?" I asked icily as Halt mopped up almost invisible drops of the stew with a crust about the size and width of a needle.

"What is this all about? Excellent stew, by the way, Rosabel."

I rubbed my wrists together nervously. "Thanks, Crowley. Um, Gilan sent the two of us to you guys."

"Gilan?" Crowley asked. He and Halt exchanged a glance. "Are Will and Adrianne involved in this at all?"

"Erm… kinda." Kory answered.

"I think I should do the talking." I told him coldly. "I have a superior intellect, not being a bash-and-whacker." He flinched. Good.

"That's enough. Crowley and I aren't here to listen to two apprentices squabble."

"So why are we here? It's clear you know exactly why we're here, which doesn't make—Pauline?"

"I suppose that sentence was supposed to make sense rather than making Pauline." Halt said drily.

I glared at him and then went back to astonishment. "Crowley, what exactly went down?"

"I'm still a bit lost." Kory admitted. "Pauline is Halt's wife, right?"

"Which made it extremely awkward when Halt found out Crowley had a thing for her. Is that why you and Pauline went your separate ways for so long, Halt?"

"We 'went our separate ways' because I have a dangerous job that leads me to travel often, and she has to go all sorts of places too."

"Wait, are you saying Crowley and Pauline… You and I… um… Halt, help me with this."

"No, I don't think I will. This could get interesting."

Crowley shot his old friend a reproving glance.

Time to work in a few theories of mine. "Did this, by any chance, happen twenty one years ago?" I asked innocently.

It was Halt's turn to glare, this time at me. I nearly cracked under his stern gaze, but then I turned and glared at Kory.

"What was that look for?" He demanded.

"Ahem. Sorry, just passing on the glare. Thought we were playing some sort of glaring game."

Halt's eyes narrowed even more. "Twenty four years ago, actually."

"Just checking, Halt, so stop glaring. You can't deny the likeness between the two."

"Will someone just explain what's going on?" Kory yelled.

"Okay. Pauline cheated on Halt with Crowley at some point, and I didn't know to what extent, so I checked to make sure a certain twenty one year old orphan who looked stunningly like Lady Pauline wasn't the, ah, product of aforementioned fling."

Crowley was already shaking his head when I finished, leaving Kory confused. "Pauline didn't cheat on Halt. _I_ kissed _her_."

"Well, that was rather blunt. Um, any advice on how to casually mention this to our respective people?"

"I'll talk to Will." Halt said. "But you may want to fill me in on exactly what happened first."

_/v\_/^\_/v\_/^\_/v\_ Rare little Will pov here:

I didn't know who I was angrier at: Rosabel, Kory, or myself. I wanted to punch Kory as badly as I wanted to go back in time and spend time with Rosabel instead of Evanlyn. But for the moment, I wanted to rage about Rosabel.

"How could she do this to me? How could you ever resume your relationships with Crowley and Pauline? What do I have to do to keep a girl? Alyss ran off and got killed, Evanlyn chose her station over me, (readers: please insert whatever the tavern girl's name was here, I haven't read that book in ages, not enough Halt in it for my likings. -THM) got married, and now Rosabel cheats on me with Kory, of all people!"

"Which question should I answer first?" Halt asked drily.

"This isn't funny, Halt!"

"Haven't you realized that she's been hiding from all of the Rangers ever since the day her father died?"

I paused in my angry pacing and thought back. She'd been spending a lot of time with the knights, admiring swords and talking strategy. She'd also spent a fair amount of time trading light-hearted insults and alcoholic beverages with the Skandians. But I hadn't seen her talk to any Rangers except when necessary. "Does she blame us for his death?" I wondered.

"I wouldn't know. She was talking to Celina and looked pretty shaken."

"Shaken? Rosabel is way too tough for that."

"You need to talk to her." Halt said firmly. "Unless you'd like to lose another girl."

"Do you know where she is?"

"The wayward pine behind you might be worth a try."

I spun around just in time to see Rosabel jump from about twenty feet in the air. She hung in the air for a split second and then crashed to the ground, rolling to recover.

"Hmm. I appear to have scratched my shoulder." She muttered as she dusted brown leaves off her tunic. Rosabel became absorbed in pulling at a leaf that had gotten stuck in her woven black leather belt.

I'd never seen her like this: her hair had streaks in it from where she'd combed it. I didn't know she owned a hairbrush. Her clothes looked like they'd been pressed and her fingernails were perfectly clean. Her boot laces were evenly spaced.

"What happened to you?" I asked

"I clean when I get anxious."

Suddenly, she burst into tears and hugged Halt. I was torn between concern and amusement. Halt's face was priceless. I don't think anyone ever hugs Halt. Ever. Like, his own mom wouldn't hug him. He's not a hugging person by any means. On a huggable scale of 1 to 10, Halt is in the negatives.

_/v\_/^\_/v\_/^\_/v\_

"And then the ever-so-brave Ranger Will woke up and started waving his knife around at the toads." I finished, passing the flask to the Skandian beside me. "Don't finish that, Gundar. I'll be wanting more."

Gundar grinned. "This one certainly knows how to drink."

Will was giving me a strange look, so I clapped a hand on Gundar's shoulder. "As much as I'd like to stay, I've got to talk to Will. War and all that fun stuff, you know." I said.

"Aye." The Skandian pirate responded.

I carefully stepped around them and went over to Will. "So…"

"I don't know how to trust you ever again." He admitted.

I sighed. "And I don't know if I can trust you." I said quietly.

"Whatever Celina said was a lie."

"I don't know that, just like you don't know if what happened between me and Kory was more than it seems."

"So where does this leave us?"

"I think you know the answer to that."

Please fight for me, please argue that we can make it through this, please don't leave me, please Will…

"So this is goodbye?"

Or not, that works too. "Yeah." I said, forcing my voice to be steady. "I… I'm going to go…"

"Back to the Skandians?"

"Yeah."

I escaped before he could see me crying and went over to Gundar, somehow managing to grin. He passed me the flask.

Instead of pretending to drink it like I had previously, I actually took a gulp. It felt like fire on the way down and distracted me from the all too familiar pain of losing someone. "Where do you get this stuff?"

"We raid a little known country called Sarmata and we find a lot of this stuff. It's called vodka." Gundar said.

I grinned. "Good stuff."

_/v\_/^\_/v\_/^\_/v\_

"Wake up, Rosabel." Elizabeth said quietly in my ear the next morning. "We've received word that the entire army is marching our way. It seems the Gallicans have smartened up."

I rolled over and got up slowly. "What's the plan, then?" I asked as I pulled my tunic on and belted it.

"Stall them the best we can until Duncan and the army arrives." She answered, handing me my double scabbard.

I felt my heart sink. "We're going to lose men."

"I know. Come on, we're eating breakfast on the way to take up our positions."

"How many Skandians will be keeping you safe while you load the catapult?"

"One—Thoran." Elizabeth said grimly.

"What about everyone else?"

"Will and Horace will have each other's backs, Adrianne and Kory were paired up, Anne and Henry are working together, Gilan is with Marissa, and you're going to help Annabel."

"Why am I with another Ranger while everyone else is—Oh. They want me to use my bow and fight close quarters."

"I hear Gilan taught you to use a sword."

"He did."

"How good are you?"

"I beat K-Kory once." I stumbled over the name. It hurt to say it.

"You're an idiot. You're both idiots! Who are you more inclined to trust, us or them? Rangers or Celina, Rosabel?"

"Oh."

She rolled her eyes and pointed out the tent. "Go find him before the battle starts."

I ran out and grabbed a piece of bread before looking around for Will. Gilan was there, Halt was there, Horace was there… It seemed everyone except for Will was around.

"Rosabel, it'll have to wait until after the battle." Crowley said from behind me. "We have to go."

"One or both of us could die, though!"

"So be careful not to." He answered.

_/v\_/^\_/v\_/^\_/v\_

Can I just say _chaos_ to describe the battle? No? Well, fine then.

One second we were all standing in silence, waiting for the Gallicans to make a move. The next second, I couldn't hear myself think.

Swords against swords, shields against shields, swords against shields, battleaxes against shields, arrows against armour, battle cries, the twang of bowstrings, screams of pain, explosions, the trebuchet creaking, heavy footsteps causing the ground to shake and grass to turn to slick mud… My ears were ringing as I shot the enemy soldiers one by one.

It seemed that for every man that went down, there were four more to take his place.

Beth was only able to stop three or four at a time.

Halt and the other experienced Rangers could only do so much.

Will and Horace had a tidy number of bodies surrounding them.

Adrianne was giving them a lot more than they reckoned for, attacking a teenage girl with no armour and a teenage guy who looked barely old enough to be an apprentice, but it wasn't enough.

I could literally see the ebb and flow of the fight: fear would win over orders and the Gallicans would retreat while we fired arrows incessantly; a squadron of the more trained Gallicans would make a gap in our defenses and our men would go down.

Guess which did more damage?

My head hurt from the noise and my stomach was a knot of fear and my eyes were blurring from trying to watch all the movement. I had to do something before we lost any more men.

They'd attack any weak spot; that was their only useful strategic movement. I had to find the weak spots before they did and strengthen them before they realized I had.

The Skandians certainly weren't the weak spot—they were getting a wide berth now that Gundar had lost all control and gone into a bloodwrath.

The forty knights weren't either; they'd smartened up and started using better formations.

But the Rangers were. Each Ranger was assigned a knight, but they were still totally free of armour and their weapons were best for long distance.

"Annabel, we need to get to the Rangers. We're losing and they're about to be attacked."

"What's your plan?"

"Oh, it's something along the lines of running at the enemy screaming bloody murder and waving my swords around." I said, pulling out my twin rapiers and grinning.

I did exactly what I'd said and ran out, just in time to stop a group of Gallicans from encircling Horace and separating him from Will.

"Sup, Horace?" I asked as I hacked and swung my swords at warriors on both sides. "We thought we'd beat them to it."

"Thanks. Have you seen Halt and Sir Anders anywhere?"

"No. Should I have?"

"We got separated the first time the Rangers were attacked."

"How many Rangers are dead?"

He met my eyes for a split second before attacking another soldier. "Eight, at the very least." He responded harshly.

"Anyone we know?"

"One of the apprentices that bothered you and Meralon both went down."

"Meralon is one of our best fighters!"

"Someone in a gray cloak on a small horse shot him in the dead center of his heart from a hundred yards away."

"Harrison." I growled.

"He knows all our tricks. The Rangers tried doing their vanishing trick, but _somehow_ they knew how to scan for them. Once or twice I nearly got shot myself, and so did Will."

A firm hand grabbed my upper arm and spun me around. "All you alright? That was brilliant, you saved us both."

It was Will.

"Hey. We need to get to Harrison. He's picking off our best men."

"Leave it to me."

"No. If you can't trust me as your girlfriend, at least allow me to prove that you can trust me in a fight. Just keep me covered. I'll go in with as many of the other apprentices as I can."

"Rosabel…"

I kissed him quickly and started weaving between the men.

_/v\_/^\_/v\_/^\_/v\_

It felt completely right to have my fellow apprentices with me. Elizabeth was at the front of the triangle, I was a step behind her to her left and Adrianne was opposite me. Marissa was to my left and a step behind me; Annabel was to Adrianne's right and a step behind her. Kory was right behind Elizabeth and between me and Adrianne. Henry and Anne were behind him and between Marissa and Annabel.

Adrianne borrowed one of my swords and we kept Elizabeth safe while she blew poisoned darts out of a bamboo tube. Kory had just enough space to lunge at anyone who got too close to our marching pyramid's flanks. Behind us, the other four apprentices sent volleys of arrows into the men before us.

We paved our way through the army surprisingly well.

Finally we got where I wanted to be: the back of the army.

"Okay, you guys. We've got to kill Harrison. If anyone goes down, we have to leave them and keep going until the traitor is stopped."

Silence (well, the lack of speaking; the battle was still going on just as loudly as ever) greeted my words.

I looked up and saw Harrison standing in front of us, flanked by fifty or so men.

"There's just eight of us, Harrison. Let's make things fair and pare it down to the eight of us against you and only forty seven of your men." Elizabeth said, her voice only scarcely free of the ice cold hatred I knew was boiling beneath the innocent, poisonous exterior of the tiny girl. (Yes, boiling ice cold hatred and innocent, poisonous exterior are contradictions. So is Elizabeth).

"I think I'll keep all forty eight of them, thanks."

Adrianne passed me my sword and unslung her bow from her shoulders. "This is going to be too easy." She said. Adrianne didn't bother hiding her hatred.

I felt everyone spread out: three of us plus Kory in the front and the remaining four in the back.

I spun both of my rapiers, showing off. "Let's do this thing, shall we?"

Harrison's bow came up impossibly fast, but I was faster. I dropped to the ground and rolled, springing up again to slash his entire bow into two fishing rod-like things.

He dropped it and pulled out his knives. I swung both swords down, too angry to think. I registered movement in the corners of my eyes and swung the blades out at the last moment while I ducked.

I hit two men in the abdomen and another's lunge went through the spot I was previously and into his comrade's chest. Three down, three to go.

There were six soldiers for each of us and then one slippery traitor we all wanted to get our hands on, preferably 'round the neck. Though I wouldn't say no to kicking him in the groin.

I stabbed another one in the foot and then swung both swords into his side at the same time. It killed him instantly.

I didn't have time to feel bad about it, either. One of his compatriots was already attacking me. I pushed him backwards with the heels of my hands and he fell onto the sword of another soldier. He lived long enough to writhe around and behead someone else.

Elizabeth was surrounded by at least ten, perhaps eleven or twelve dead bodies. Most of them were slowly changing color; one was red, another pale, another bluish. I didn't want to know, nor did I particularly care. All I knew was there were five good fighters left, and the splintered wood around me told me that our bows were gone and useless.

"Just hand over the traitor. I don't want to kill you just because you were ordered to fight for your country." I said, sounding every bit as exhausted as I felt. I didn't know killing people was so draining.

Kory translated it, and I didn't have to speak Gallic to know it was a useless plea.

"Very well."

I threw a sword to Adrianne and saw Marissa pull out hers. Elizabeth was weilding a long, thin dagger and her saxe knife. Anne held a dagger I knew instinctively was Beth's (who else carries a dagger that has little hooks cut out of it so it would go in clean like any other knife and then, when twisted any amount of an angle, would be excruiatingly painful to pull out?) own design. Kory cleaned his sword on his trousers quickly as Henry and Annabel readied Ranger knives.

The arming happened in a split second before they were upon us. Several times I barely avoided the longsword of the man I was fighting. Anne, Annabel, and Henry were fighting as a team against one.

Slash, lunge, parry, block, duck, bob, weave, slice, distract… I was growing tired, trying to concentrate on everything at once while simultaneously breathing zen-like and allowing instincts to take over. It wasn't working very well, and I had nicks and scrapes up and down my arms and a few along my side.

I really needed to carry a shield. I was using my forearms and sword as a shield and it wasn't going well. Somehow I managed to not feel it when I threw my arms up at the last moment and the broadsword went down to the bone. My only thought was, _Hmm, it would appear I am bleeding._ Clearly, I was in shock.

"Rosabel, we can't keep this up." Anne panted.

"Well, we can't exactly retreat, now can we?" I snapped. Then, "Sorry."

She smiled wearily as she saved my life by stopping the guy's sword two inches from my face. "It's alright."

Elizabeth was pushed into me by a particularly powerful blow. She was so tiny, a petite little figure standing tall in front of a huge warrior like a pixy facing down a giant. "We're screwed." Beth said quietly as she barely stopped another swing.

"What do we do?" Annabel asked Beth quietly.

Adrianne shook her head. "That won't do much. We need to distract them while we get to Harrison. I just saw him fire another arrow."

My stomach clenched as I thought of Will, Gilan, Halt, Horace, and Crowley: well-known and easy to recognize highly skilled fighters.

Annabel looked up. "So, how do we choose who's the distraction?" She asked.

"I'll go." I said, the words out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"I'll go too." Anne said. "The two of us should be able to hold them off. You all can take our weapons and get to Harrison."

Annabel's face became strangely pale. "No. Rosabel, you've got guts and you're going to go far. Anne, you're the best we've got."

"So what's your idea?" I asked. "We haven't got a better plan." I reminded her.

Annabel grabbed my sword right out of my hand, charged at the men waiting, and yelled at the top of her lungs: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaraluuuuuuuuen!"

She fought like a Skandian. Each time she swung the thin blade, men fell like stones before her. Annabel kept shouting the same thing over and over, and I watched the Gallicans flee from her, like they had in the first onslaught of arrows and knights and Skandians.

I'll never forget her. She saved all seven of us, and we managed to escape the small army that had been protecting Harrison. More accurately, half of it went down under Annabel's sword and the other half fled, leaving a gap through which Skandians and Araluen knights poured through.

Elizabeth vanished for a moment and then reappeared with Harrison. He looked terrified beyond explanation. I'll leave it to you to fathom the various ways in which Elizabeth could threaten him without bluffing once.

The rest of the fight faded to dull, fuzzy memories of inseparable chaos. I wasn't fighting, and I wouldn't have been able to do so anyway. I was mentally, physically, and emotionally drained… and I was carrying Annabel.

One minute the clash of steel was ringing out like always, and the next I was swarmed with Rangers. Halt and Gilan and Will and Crowley were asking me what had happened and telling me that we were heroes and trying to help me.

"I couldn't leave her." I said, my words barely distinguishable. "Not there, alone."

"It's alright, you're safe now." Will told me over and over.

_/v\_/^\_/v\_/^\_/v\_

"I cannot ignore the bravery of the eight apprentices who went deep into enemy lines to stop Harrison Ewell from killing any more of our men:

"Marissa Frances Bruce,

"Anne Hailee Carrick,

"Henry Maxwell Jacobson,

"Adrianne Noel Pichardo,

"Annabel Lee Sawyer,

"Rosabel Aline Stalon,

"Elizabeth Estelle Teske,

"And Kory Andrew Wilson." King Duncan said, putting the oakleafs around our necks one by one and giving Kory a beautiful sword and shield decorated with an oak bough. When he reached Annabel's name, he laid it in her coffin, in which she was lying peacefully with her hands crossed, and lifted her head gently to put it around her neck.

We kept our heads bowed; we were all kneeling on one knee (each of us were on one knee, obviously—we weren't all on ONE knee…) in front of way too many people to keep the anonymity of Rangers past that moment. "I have been informed that their actions turned the course of the battle to our favor.

"One of them, Annabel Lee Sawyer, gave her life to save the lives of them and all of us. We honor her here today, an orphan and Ward of Seacliff Fief. She was one of the first six girls to ever earn the bronze oakleaf of the Ranger Corps. Though it was never bestowed in life, we now bestow this honor upon her."

I felt Adrianne's frame wrack with a dry sob. Elizabeth was deathly still on my other side. Marissa was weeping openly as the coffin lid was closed and Annabel, still clad in full Ranger uniform and her hair laying flat in death the way it had refused to in life, vanished from sight.

We all stood up at the same time. Kory sheathed the sword and slung the shield over his shoulder. In the complete silence of movement possessed only by Rangers and one certain young knight-to-be who'd picked up a lot of Ranger tricks, we moved the oak coffin slowly.

When we'd lowered the glorified box to the bottom of the glorified ditch, none of us could fight the tears.

I pulled my cowl further forward and picked up the shovel. I gave it to Marissa. She picked up a shovelful of dirt and dumped it into the grave. One by one in alphabetic order we put in the traditional first earth covering over the coffin usually done by the surviving family members.

The other Rangers came up too, and filled the grave in scoop by scoop. Knights from the battle and people from Seacliff helped.

The grave was almost done, but there was a tiny pile of dirt beside it still.

I moved to get it, but to my surprise, Cassandra got there first. She knelt down and scooped it up with her dainty little hands and patted it down into the mound. King Duncan helped her stand, and the Crown Princess had two round spots of dirt on her knees from helping bury an orphan and commoner.

The spectators were already shocked beyond words, but that was nothing compared to what happened next: I ran to Halt and he actually hugged me. For a moment, I was a child being hugged by my father again. Then it was back to a badass Ranger chick standing beside her grim, taciturn mentor.

I turned to Will. "I will fight for you every day if you say goodbye and I will fight beside you every day if you don't."

Will kissed me. Halt moved away from us noticeably and some people laughed.

I was a bit too busy to tell them to shut up.

**So, that's the battle! Sorry it's so long and depressing, the emotional anguish is just so fun to write. Hmm, maybe I should talk to a professional about that last bit, kinda morbid. Ah well. Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading, and PLEASE REVIEW with constructive criticism. I'll probably get at least one more done before the summer and then return to more sporadic updates. **


	16. Bullies & Dummies

**Okay, maybe I'll update more than once before summer. I'm on a Rosabel roll… Wow, that was an alliteration! Sorry, nerd. Anyhoo, enjoy.**

Heel of right hand, heel of left hand while they're still reeling, snap forearms up in loose X to block return blows, left elbow then right elbow up and in. Knee stomach if girl and groin if guy, keep knee up to stop them from going anywhere and push down hard on base of neck with elbow while they're doubled over in pain. Then, put one arm in front of their legs and push out and up, at the same time press upper back and flip opponent over. Put foot in center of chest while they're lying disoriented on ground and push down just enough to bruise ribs, not break them.

"Wow. I would so hate to be that dummy." Will commented. "Pretending it's Kathleen?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I was imagining Morgorath. I would never _dream_ of attacking a fellow Ranger." I replied sweetly.

"Really? That's odd, because you used the female variation of the kneeing move."

I glared at him. "Totally not helpful, Will."

Kathleen was the newest apprentice. I'd disliked Kathleen from the moment I'd laid eyes on her, about two months ago. It had been over two months since the battle and almost three since my father's death…

"I'm Lady Kathleen Barnaby, Ranger Commandant Crowley's apprentice." She'd said brightly, using way too many titles for my likings, after she daintily climbed out of her saddle. She rode a small, pure white horse with smooth, short hair. Not a Ranger horse by any stretch of the imagination.

Her tunic was really a short dress, and it went past her knees. It was pretty, with plaiting and lace, and had a tiny pattern in darker gray than the tunic itself. I could see the white ruffles underneath that were petticoats and slips. Her leggings were glorified tights that went to her ankles.

"I'm Rosabel."

She smiled a smile that told a million lies. "Pleasure to meet you, Rosabel."

"It's Rahz-uh-behl, not Rohz-uh-behl." I corrected sharply. "It's never shortened to Rose or Bell, either."

Kathleen turned the simpering smile on the rest of the apprentices. "And what are your names?" She asked.

"My name is Marissa. This is Anne, this is Henry, and this is Kory."

Kathleen repeated the pleasure-to-meet-you lie to all of them, met by stony silence from three of them and an even faker smile from Marissa.

"I'm your worst nightmare, so stay out of my way." Elizabeth said in a voice that was so honeyed it was pure evil. She was smiling, and this smile wasn't faked. It was every inch that sweet little smile you see on the faces of innocent little girls and a cat who knows how to open the canary's cage.

Adrianne didn't smile. She met Kathleen's eyes and then spun around, pulling her hood up as she stormed away into Ranger-style invisibility.

"That's Bessie and Adrianne." Marissa said cheerfully. "Good luck with them, _Lady_ Kathleen."

Kathleen stomped her foot. "I will not be spoken to in this way!"

I looked around for Kathleen and then sighed. "She's obnoxious. Anyway, when do we leave for the wedding?"

"Horace said we should leave tomorrow. There'll be a lot of people on the roads. The entirety of the kingdom is invited."

"Can they even fit that many people into the walls of the city, let alone the palace ballroom?"

"No. Only people handpicked by the bride and groom and the King can come inside the castle. Don't worry, we're on the list."

"Oh, yeah, great, because I _really _want to go to a wedding."

"You can dance with me." He grinned.

"I see how you are." I grumbled. "Trying to make me all positive. I'll have you know you can go blind looking at the bright side for too long."

He laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. Be warned, Rosabel, you have to wear formal attire." Will said. Easy for him to say, he didn't have to wear a dress!

"No way. No, no, no, no. I gave up formal attire when I became a Ranger. Why can't I just wear the official Ranger formal attire?"

"You're not going just as a Ranger, you're going as Lady Rosabel Stalon of Fenwick Fief, apprentice Ranger of the bronze oak leaf."

I picked the dummy back up and straightened the bendable wire "bones" so it would be standing when I attacked it again.

Grab right forearm with left hand, yank opponent back and to left so her—erm, the opponent of indistinguishable gender—back is to you, put in chokehold with right arm, keep right elbow directly below the chin. Let go of the forearm and quickly grab the weapon out of their right hand. Either hold the weapon backwards with the point directly over the heart to hold as hostage or drop it and snap neck by putting right hand under chin and applying pressure to the left side of the head, pushing it to the right sharply while the right hand pushes chin to left. Release quickly in order to avoid entanglement with corpse.

This was way too much fun for me to worry about my mental health right then. When else do you get to snap necks and such for no reason at all? Exactly, never, because I have to follow the law, etc., etc. It's a great way to release bad feelings. (Die, die, die you evil mannequin!)

La-di-da, blah blah blah blah… That's all I heard from the guy's mouth. He seriously needed to be replaced by someone who knew how to enunciate (read: EEE NUN SEE AY TUH). Anyway, I recognized the word marriage (mare-widge, as the minister whatchamacallit said) and the overly exaggerated word union.

During the wedding, I was sitting in the very front row next to Halt, just as tightly wrapped in a cloak as him. He'd forgone the usual half-length cape of the formal Ranger attire and wore a formal, full-length green cloak with silver fastenings. I was wearing a velvet one of the same colors, and Pauline wore one identical to mine.

My boots were just barely peeping out from under it, and from his spot as best man, Will kept giving me suspicious looks.

But the important part was not me or the minister or Halt or Pauline or even Will. It was them.

When the mahogany doors swung open, I looked up at Horace. He was beaming in his full ceremonial armour.

Then I glanced back at the doors.

Cassandra's dress was perfect. It was a flowing ivory empire waist dress with half-length chiffon sleeves that trailed away. The dress had a gold waist band and its square scoop neck was edged with gold too. Her veil was long and had gold edged lace on it.

She was clutching her father's arm. He was wearing full armour with the crest of Araluen on his tunic and smiling.

They reached the end of the aisle and Marissa took the Princess's bouquet so she could take Horace's hands. Marissa looked perfect like always, but her dress was absolutely amazing. I wasn't surprised that she had hit it off with Cassandra (Cassie, as Marissa called her now). They were both petite, elegant fashionistas and huge social butterflies.

Missy flashed a quick smile at me and took the hand of the little dark-haired flower girl who'd been walking up the aisle behind the bride and her father.

Will put his hand on the ringbearer's shoulder, so the little boy (the twin brother of the flower girl) wouldn't go wandering around the church.

He met my eyes with a _why-the-heck-am-I-in-front-of-so-many-people?_ look and I couldn't help but smile. I nudged Halt. "Smile, Halt. It's a wedding."

"Rosabel, please tell me you're following the dress code and wearing a dress instead of the Ranger uniform." Will hissed as I went up to him, in line to greet the married couple.

I grinned at him. "Oh, I am."

"You're wearing combat boots. You do realize it has to be a formal dress, right?"

"I cleared it with both the bride and the maiden of honor."

He gave me one last suspicious glance and I stepped forward to hug Missy. "You looked great! You could have been Cassandra's brunette twin!" I said happily.

"Thanks. Wasn't it the most amazing wedding ever?"

"It's the only one I've ever seen, so yeah!"

She laughed and I moved up to Horace and Cassandra. They were trying to look professional, but Cassandra was excited beyond words and Horace was both happy and nervous.

"Congratulations! I must say, the dress looks even better now than it did at the fitting." I grinned at Cassandra. "You'll make a great King someday, Horace, so stop freaking out. Besides, King Duncan has quite a bit of life left in him yet, God willing."

"I saw Will harassing you about the formal attire thing." Cassandra said.

I laughed. "He has no idea."

She grinned, leaving Horace looking confused. "An excellent choice, Rosabel. And I don't mean the dress." She added mischievously.

I moved away so the rest of the people could talk to the newlyweds.

I may not be very good at dancing, but I know how. And according to Halt, Will wasn't much of a dancer either.

The musicians started up the traditional wedding song, which meant everyone in the wedding party and their partner had to dance first, right after the bride and groom themselves.

I saw a woman wearing the black attire of a widow (who looked suspiciously like Adrianne) take Duncan's hand. An interesting choice… I flashed a suspicious glance at Elizabeth and Adrianne, who were lounging against a marble pillar. Beth waved (when I say waved, I mean quickly closing her fingers and opening them again) and Adrianne grinned wickedly.

Marissa batted her eyelashes just twice in Gilan's general directions and asked him nicely to dance with her. The ringbearer took his sister's hand and the cute little pair went up.

Will walked up to me and held his hand out patiently. I untied my cloak fastenings and hung it over the back of the chair I was sitting in.

The dress, annoying though it was, was totally worth it. The look on Will's face was so funny. I don't think he'd really understood previously that I do, in fact, clean up well. I guess it never occurred to him that I was a Lady of Fenwick Fief and not just any random Ranger.

Both of us were orphans. Both of us had lost everyone but the Rangers. Both of us were terrible when it came to being in front of tons of people. Both of us were way too dressed up for our likings. Both of us didn't really know how to dance. But I had the time of my life that night.

I don't like prissy rich girls who think they can do anything and everything in the world with money.

And I don't particularly like Henry, whom I know I rarely mention. This is because most of what he says is whispered in Anne's ear. He spoke twice: once to discuss explosives with Missy and once to count himself among Anne's team. I may speak enough for all eight—seven of us combined, but I still think Henry needs to find (and subsequently use) his own voice instead of hiding behind Anne's.

He's like a (silent) brother but sometimes I want to scream at him to never shut up because his silence is louder than any amount of chattering.

ANYWAY, back to the prissy rich girl who happens to go by the name of Kathleen making fun of _my_ silent brother.

"Are you deaf, mute, or just stupid?" She asked him.

Henry stood there in complete silence and I was rooted to my spot and my tongue seemed to be glued to the roof of my mouth for all the noise I made.

Where were the others when he needed them? Well, Beth and Adrianne were on a mission with Gilan. (I'd get the scoop when they came back, confidential or not) Marissa was there with me and Anne, but none of us particularly wanted to go up against the King's niece when it was our word against hers.

"You stupid ginger." Kathleen continued. Hey, not cool! I came from a long line of gingers myself and I liked red hair a lot more than blonde. "You're too dumb to string a few words together. It's a wonder they ever allowed you into the Ranger Corps."

Must not go up against the King's niece, no matter how much I want to. Must not punch this brat, no matter what she calls Henry. Must not step in… Screw it, she was a bully and even though I had to agree he needed to talk more, she had no right to call him those things. "I've wondered the same about you." I said in a low voice.

She spun around. "What did you say to me?"

"I don't know how they ever allowed you into the Ranger Corps. Araluen is a free country and you're allowed to say what you like, but I'm equally allowed to stand between you and whoever you're bullying, no matter whose cousin is married to your auntie.

"As Rangers we are called to serve and protect. That means everyone, not just nobility or people you like or people who you find good-looking. Everyone.

"If you want to be a Ranger, you'd better close your mouth, get over yourself, and get to work. Wear the official uniform instead of that crime against practicality. Do you think I combed my hair and put it in a twist bun the day of the battle? Do you think I washed my face and tied my boots in a bow?

"No. When you take on the oak leaf you give up creature comforts and take up a great deal of responsibility. If you can't handle that, take your white horse and carry your butt back up to the castle."

I heard someone start a slow clap. Will and Halt stepped out of the woods. Will was clapping and Halt was looking grim as ever.

"Thank you, Lady Kathleen. You can return to the castle." Halt told her gravely. She smiled, this time genuinely, as she went over to her horse.

_Wait, what?_ I wondered. So my life wasn't a test but this part of it was? My head hurt.

"Celina gave us an idea." Will grinned. "Sorry to creep you out again. But Halt informed me that we shouldn't have interfered with the bullies at the Gathering, so I suggested a sting operation."

I walked up and smacked him. "Jerk."

Everyone laughed. "Looks like things are back to normal." Henry said. "Glad to see it. Thanks, by the way, Rosabel." He had a really low voice and a very wide smile.

I've said it before, always ironically, and I probably say it often after this in irony, but I mean it genuinely this time: It just gets better and better with me.

**Dear readers,**

**Thanks for reading and please review! Thanks again to Luvergirlof books for amazing reviews.**

**Anyway, I'd like to take this moment to tell everyone to help stop bullying simply by not participating. "Elizabeth" and "Adrianne" were both bullied throughout elementary school and I don't like bullies one bit. **

**Also, I'd like to add that I can't take credit for any of the characters since they're all either John Flanagan's (One of the best writers ever) or real people. Sorry to "Annabel," but I had to kill off someone.**

**Special thanks to a few amazing songs for helping me write all these chapters: Avril Lavigne's "Keep Holding On," Superchick's "Not Done Yet," Glee's cast's "Loser Like Me," and Taylor Swift's "Long Live."**

**Yours,**

**Theodora Helena Miller**


	17. Too Much Coffee

Halt's been on about some _crazy_ thing called spring cleaning, so I've been snooping. No better excuse for poking around in dusty corners than a sponge and soapy water. Crowley had long since removed the files, but I'm sure at least one of my roommates keeps a journal.

Presently, I was checking under the mattresses.

"Rosabel, what are you doing under that bunk?" Halt said.

I poked my head out. "Spring cleaning!" I said cheerfully. "Lotsa dust around these bedframes, donchya know!"

He glared at me. "Enough murdering our language."

"I haven't fought anything but dust bunnies in weeks, so why can't I wage war on proper grammar?"

"Because it's highly annoying."

I stuck my tongue out at him, remembered who I was talking to, and popped back under the bed, scrubbing hard enough at the wood to make it squeak. He stalked off and I resumed my searching. I pulled several clumps of dust out of tight spaces (seriously, how does dust squeeze into a hair's breadth of space and then become compacted if the space NEVER widens?) but no diaries. Darn.

That completed my search of under all the bunks. I turned so I was perpendicular to the wall again and pushed off from it with my sock-ed feet. WAR ON GRAMMAR! I slid across the smooth floors and into Will's foot. "Sup?"

"You declared a war on grammar?"

"Yeppers."

"Have I mentioned recently that I love you?"

"Mm… Nope. Nice to know. Help me up?"

He took my hand and used the slipperiness of cotton against wood to pull me up quickly. "You're insane. Anyway, how's the prying going? Find anything interesting?"

"I'm not prying."

"The whole camp knows; we hid everything while you were drinking coffee yesterday."

"It's not prying, it's intelligence gathering."

"Oh, sure, I see the difference." Will rolled his eyes.

"So," I said cheerfully, "What's on the agenda today?"

"Nothing but cleaning."

"Okie dokie."

"Rosabel, have you been drinking that vodka stuff again?"

"Nope… I just had eighteen cups of coffee in the past two hours." I beamed.

"HALT!" Will yelled. Halt came in quickly. "Have you ever seen anyone drink eighteen cup of coffee in two hours?"

Halt gave me a calculating glance. "No…"

"Rosabel has. I thought she was insane usually, but this is worse…"

"Interesting." Elizabeth said, poking her head off the edge of one of the rafters in the room.

Will did a double take. "How long have you been up there?" He demanded.

"Hmm… three hours. Rosabel, do a back flip."

I paused, concentrated, and then bent backwards, put my hands on the ground, and pushed off the ground. I landed on my feet, grinning through my hair.

"Since when can you do a back flip?" Halt asked.

"Marissa taught me. Wow, I've got all kinds of energy today. Anyone want to race?"

Will and Halt exchanged weird glances. "Rosabel…" Halt began. "How about a mission?"

"Ooh, fun! Do I get to go undercover?"

Halt nodded. "Yes, I suppose you do."

"Halt, this is way too dangerous. The entirety of Araluen knows her name and mine." Will said.

"They won't expect a girl with messy hair and an attitude like Rosabel's to be a Ranger."

"The name Rosabel is so uncommon they'll recognize it immediately, and you can't expect her to go by another name so quickly."

"Rose!" Elizabeth called. I looked up automatically. "She answers to Rose." She told them, before jumping off the rafter and landing neatly on the top bunk.

"What about me? You said you wanted me to go on this one."

"You'll be a troupe. You, Marissa, and Rosabel."

"I'll need a name too and there aren't any nicknames for Will."

"Bill is one." I commented. "But I suggest Chocho."

"How the heck do you know about that one?" Will asked.

I replied in a singsong voice, "Files!"

-*-x-*-x-*-

"Oh, God, I'll never have more than two cups of coffee a day again!" I said.

Elizabeth laughed. "I don't know, it was pretty interesting."

"You certainly became highly amusing." Adrianne commented. "My favorite part had to have been the cartwheels."

Marissa grinned wickedly. "Or the running back and forth on the rafters." She added.

Gilan turned back towards me and I clamped a hand over his mouth before he could say anything.

"Does everyone know their background information? We'll be figured out in ten seconds flat if our stories don't match up." Will said in a business-like manner.

"I'm Gilan and Adrian—I mean, Dylan and Addie's sister and Maris—Maria is our cousin. Will, you're Maria's stepbrother and you're Eliza's big brother Choco."

Will grumbled, "I'm still mad at you for suggesting that to Halt."

"Well, at least Choco doesn't directly translate to _butterfly_. It sounds better too." I pointed out. "Besides, you're not Will, so you don't have a reputation to uphold. Just get used to your name."

Halt had discovered from me that my mother had taught Gilan to juggle and that Adrianne and Elizabeth were great singers. Plus Adrianne can play accordion and Elizabeth is amazing with a fiddle. We were a troupe of performers rather than jongleurs, but same difference honestly.

A series of massacres had sprung up in Fenwick Fief. Our job was to protect the people and discover whodunit. All without breaking cover, mind you.

Call me crazy, but I had this feeling that there's something bigger going on… And we were about to get way over our heads in it.

**Well, folks, that's all for now. I've got a math final exam to take. Dumb Geometry. :/ Anyway, I might update afterwards. Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW! Also, thanks to everyone who put my story on their story alert list. **


	18. Truth is Like a Giant Flyswatter

"No way. I cannot condone wearing sky blue tunic and boots with holly green leggings." Marissa said, glaring at her new outfit. "I can't believe you're making me wear this."

Elizabeth sighed. "It's better than a pastel pink tunic and matching boots with dark blue leggings. Pastels should be banned from the color wheel." She said as she poked at the tunic.

I glared at Will. "Choco, can I kill you? Hot pink leggings and pastel green tunic and boots?"

"Halt said he chose the colors at random out of a hat. We have to wear bright colors. Do you think I'm enjoying the orange cloak?"

"At least you and Gilan get gray clothes. Although seeing him in pastel blue gives me blackmail…" I grinned.

"We need to get going." Gilan said as he poked his head in. "Stop complaining and change already."

"Ahem, two guys in the tent." I told him. They left faster than you could say "Thanks."

I grabbed the green leggings and handed Beth the pink leggings. Marissa took the blue leggings and we all got dressed in the sane color schemes.

Bess finished belting her tunic and hid a knife in… we'll leave it at, she hid a knife. Her ankle sheath was so full of thin knives I was surprised she could walk. I'd picked up her dark blue wool travelling cloak before and found it weighted; she had bottles of powders and gels and liquids sewn into it.

Marissa keeps a basic first aid kit in her belt-pouch, and generally uses two sheathed stiletto knives to hold her bun. They actually look like plain old centimeter-in-diameter hair doodads and have roses and such painted on them, but they're deadly and made of that hard bluish steel used for Ranger knives.

Adrianne doesn't bother with the fashion element of or the just-plain-psychotic degree of armed-and-dangerous, but she carries a standard sword. Not a rapier like I like to use, a battlesword like Horace wields. She has it hidden in the bottom of her instrument case.

Personally, I'm a barbwire-braided-in-my-hair, twin-rapiers-at-my-hips, you-don't-want-to-see-what-I've-got-up-my-sleeve-next kind of girl, but not today. Today I had three knives in my thigh and ankle sheaths and my hair up like Marissa's, a docile way of doing things.

*x*x*

"Is that the inn?" I asked, looking up the hill at the smallish building.

Will stomped past me through the knee high grasses. "No, it's a castle."

"Shut up, Butterfly."

"Only if you do, Rose." He replied. I shoved him jokingly. "Oh, you're going to regret that."

I grinned. "Bet you can't make me." He lunged towards me and I took off running, only stopping to do a round off.

"Stop showing off, Rose." Beth yelled.

I almost paid dearly for the round off—Will managed to get a half-pace behind me because of it, before I took a flying leap six paces forward and hit the ground running full speed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Someone said, and I realized our shouting had brought the innkeeper out. "Who are you?"

"We're a travelling troupe of entertainers. I'm Rose, and this is my cousin's stepbrother Choco."

"Your cousin's stepbrother?"

"Well, yeah. Back there's my older brother and sister—that's them, Dylan and Addie, with the lighter hair. The small girl with curly brown hair is my cousin Maria. The other girl is Choco's little sister, Maria's stepsister."

"I see. Will you all be needing rooms? Though I must warn you, it's not safe in these here parts anymore. You should keep going."

"We need shelter before the snowstorms hit." Will said. "What's not safe, anyway?"

"Raiders."

"Like, Skandians?" I asked, managing to fake fear at the thought.

"Worse."

Beth caught up. "I'm Eliza. What's worse than Skandians?"

"They're a group of bandits…"

*-*-*

I've never had people clap for me. Not seriously, at least: Elizabeth had picked up one of my favorite forms of sarcasm, a slow clap for whatever fail was just... failed, I guess. People don't stomp their feet and give standing ovation when you play a prank on them. Odd, isn't it? I mean, a well executed prank is to be applauded; and yes, even if I'm the victim.

"They're staring at me." I said, as an aside to Beth. I kept grinning so the audience wouldn't wonder what the heck I was saying and think it was an excited compliment to my fellow troupe member. "I don't like them staring at me."

"I know, isn't it awful? It's so annoying to be liked." She replied… not sarcastically.

"Let me guess, you'd rather be feared?"

Elizabeth grinned. "Much more useful."

*-.-*-.-*

When I came down the stairs the next morning (after a bout of mortal combat against my knotted hair), everyone was already dressed and sitting in solemn silence at the bar.

"What happened?"

"There was another raid last night." Will replied.

"How many dead?" I asked. "Townspeople, that is."

Elizabeth sighed. "I heard the final body count was thirty two. No survivors. At least half were women, elders, and children."

I sighed too and picked up the last plate. It was an apple, just the right mixture of red and green to make it sweet but not terribly so and crisp, and a little loaf of dark brown bread that smelled like heaven next to a little pat of butter.

The raiders would be proud of my ability to demolish that plate of food.

"What did apple ever do to you?" Missy asked as I swung into my saddle afterwards.

I grinned wickedly. "Exist." I responded as I picked up the reins and patted Belladonna's flank in greeting.

"Gilan, we should search those woods. It's a likely place for a hideout." Will said.

"Okay, Rosabel and..."

"One riot, one Ranger." Everyone said at the same time.

I hopped out of the saddle and told Bella to follow Blaze. "Meet me back at the inn in an hour. If I'm not back by then, panicking would be a good start."

x-*-x

The woods were an eerie kind of silent. The only sounds were snow falling off the leaves and the slight noise as I hopped from tree branch to tree branch, crouching to keep my balance.

That would be a depressing end to my career as a Ranger, falling off a tree branch. Though the snow would cushion me, I would catch quite a chill riding back covered in snow. Sure, catching a chill rarely kills a strong young girl, but then again, Alexander the Great died of a cold. Well, overdosing on a cold remedy. But a cold all the same.

Anyway, I needed to concentrate. My white and gray mottled cloak only kept out so much cold and I'd be numb before long.

I'd just decided I'd seen enough when I caught a sharp scent that wasn't the snow on the cold winter air, though the two smell oddly the same for being polar opposites: it was smoke.

"Valsar is insane, sending us out here in this." Someone was saying. I froze on a birch branch and watched the speaker curiously.

"Aye, and without any beer." His companion said. I tried to get a better look at them, and then my feet slipped off the icy branch. For a heart-stopping moment I hung there by one hand. But my scrabbling for balance paid off. "Wait, did you hear that?"

I sighed. It looked like I'd be taking a plunge anyway: it was hard to kill without leaving blood stains on the snow anyway, and with no stones available to throw I had to do it in hand-to-hand combat. "It was just a squirrel."

They both said, "Oh." and kept walking. Then they paused, looked at each other, and stared up at me with their mouths hanging open.

Wow, they were _genii_. I rolled my eyes and dropped, landing in a crouch and up to my waist in snow.

Two swift punches dispatched the scouts and I dragged them into a little tangle of cat briar. I didn't think they were smart enough for me to have to kill them, and besides, they weren't going anywhere in that, between the ice and the thorns.

I followed their footsteps, stepping in them, and approached the camp. The smoke smell grew stronger, and then I could hear the murmur of voices. All men, by the sounds of it. Wait, no. There was one voice... A girl had just launched into a lengthy tirade. Raspy, which usually meant old, but the way it was strong and interrupted by coughing told me it was illness that lead to the scratchy sound.

I edged a little closer.

"I don't think you have a plan. It's been two years and I'm still your prisoner. Just use that genius you keep telling me about or let me go, Keren."

Keren? I knew that name. Will and Alyss had killed him in Macindaw. He was dead. Will doesn't mess that sort of thing up. If he said no pulse, there was no pulse.

Unless... of course! Malcolm would have gone looking for injured people, and Keren's features would be unrecognizable even by his cousin. Acid's kind of funny like that.

"Face it, I'm not a ticket out of the country. No one's going to ransom me, and Will won't come looking for me, so you can't force him to help you. You did your job of capturing me far too well. Will thinks I'm dead and if you contact him he'll tell Halt in a heartbeat."

I heard someone pacing on the frozen ground, probably Keren, but I was focusing on what the girl had said. Will would never work for Keren, not unless Keren had someone... Oh no. Oh, no, no, no, _no_.

But there was no escaping the truth that hit me like a giant flyswatter (cheerful mental image, huh?): Alyss Mainwaring was alive.

"Please, Keren. You know what it's like to be uprooted. Let me go, and I swear on my own life I won't tell anyone."

I had the feeling she was really getting to him. It seemed I wouldn't have to save Will's ex...

"Excuse me, sir, but I've got some good news."

I heard a silence loaded with Keren's interest and Alyss's fear as they waited for the messenger to go on.

"A group of travelling entertainers got rooms at the local inn. We've done it. The Ranger has come."


	19. Alyss

**Marissa's knives were sheathed. The knives and sheathes were no thicker than a centimeter total. Like a flat knitting needle. They wouldn't cut her hair. Sorry for any confusion. And of course I brought back Alyss. Did you expect me to be nice to Rosabel and Will? I killed off her parents, nearly killed him off, killed off their friend, and had her kiss Kory. Most of this was aimed at the most loyal reader and reviewer I've got (besides Eva Cormac. Hi Eva!), luvergirlof books: You're absolutely and completely wrong, I would never be so mean as to wound the characters emotionally via a love triangle. (Mwahaha.)**

Well. This was _so_ what I wanted. I'm just _estatic_. I can barely hold in my excitement.

Why?

Oh, I was crouching in a bush, up to my shoulders in snow and thorns. My socks were wet and my toes were cold. Yet another old enemy was out for revenge, this time on the one guy I've ever fallen for: Will Treaty. He was in mortal danger with my three best-est friends and my uncle. Will's ex-girlfriend was alive and well three meters away from me. And I was wearing pastels. Best. Day. Ever.

Someone was going to die for this. Many, many someones.

The nearest someones were the people holding Alyss. Perfect. I needed my doppelganger (for those not versed in German folklore, read: clone) to help me save Will and co.

Keren would be smart enough to disarm them in some way. He'd probably attack them in the middle of a performance. Attack a seemingly unarmed Elizabeth at your own risk… The knight (perhaps a zombie by now) had ridden (rode?) past me about a half hour previously.

I needed to get into the camp. Problem was, I was wearing white with pastels and they'd cleared all the snow out of the clearing (clearing pun unintended).

Needless to say, I stood up, took off my soaked cloak (wow, that almost rhymed), and strolled in with a cheery, "Morning, boys!"

My bow came up as one idiot moved towards me. Three men fell dead before the others realized this pint-sized blonde chick wearing the most annoying color pallette ever was one of the badass Rangers their boss had mentioned. That was when they started running. Eight more of them went down.

I don't like people who kill innocent women and children, but I hear the fires of hell like the company of such people.

Soon the camp was empty. I found two cloaks, a thick blanket, a pot of stew, two bowls, and two horses before I approached the tent clad in the new, dry cloak. I'd come back for my snow cloak later.

"Who are you?" Alyss asked as I walked in. I pulled the cowl down a little further.

"A friend." I said quietly, crouching beside her with a bowl of stew. "I need your help and you need mine. I think we could come to an agreement."

"I don't need your help. I don't make deals." She snapped as I cut through her bindings.

Okay, I'd have to drop the Hibernian accent to get her to trust me. I sighed. "Look, Alyss, will you just shut up and eat so we can get going?"

"How do you know my name?"

I rolled my eyes. "Everyone knows the name Alyss. You're the blonde beauty that captured the heart of Will Treaty." I tried not to sound too bitter. I'm pretty sure it failed.

"Oh."

"I'm an old friend of Gilan's. What happened to Jenny?"

"They killed her." Her voice was stronger now, but colored with sadness.

I looked up at her for the first time. I didn't look anything like her. My chin had softer lines, less defined and strong. My nose was smaller and curved up. And she was a _lot_ taller than me.

Okay, so my gray-green eyes and blonde hair looked similar. But seriously, I don't look like her twin.

"I—do you know Will?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I know Will."

"Is he alright?"

"He was last time I saw him." But I'm not. I'm so not alright. Do we have to go through all this right now? How could she hate me enough to rip my heart to pieces within seconds of meeting me? "I'm sure he'll be pleased you're alright." I'm not. Sorry, Alyss, but I'm not pleased.

"We need to help Will."

"I know. That's why I rescued you before I went after Keren."

"After Keren?" She asked as she got up. "What could you have done?"

I picked up my bow. "Oh, this and that."

She laughed. "Forget that I asked."

Dammit, why was she so likeable?

"What's your name?"

Hmm, should I tell her my real name? "Ranger Stalon." That's a no.

"Are you the first girl Ranger?"

"Yeah."

"Who's your mentor? Gilan?"

"Halt."

"Your answers keep getting shorter and shorter."

"Yep."

"Why won't you pull the hood down?"

"Finally, a useful question. I don't want to pull it down because I have absolutely no idea if I would keep up the taciturn Ranger thing or start spilling out the past if I did."

"I get the feeling you don't like me."

"You're a lot smarter than you look."

"What did I do to make you hate me?" She demanded, stepping towards me as if considering whether or not she could pull my hood down.

"Exist."

She looked at me suspiciously. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Ask your boyfriend."

And with that oh-so-not-bitter-yeah-sure-I'm-completely-over-Will statement, I stalked out and tried to slam the tent flap behind me. It didn't work, in case you were wondering.

x-x-x-x-x

"Miss Stalon?"

Please shut up, Alyss. "It's Lady Stalon to you."

"Okay, Lady Stalon, why do you hate me?"

Lalalalalalala can't hear you!

"Is it because you're in love with Will?" She asked. "I was like that to Cassandra when I thought she loved him."

"Yeah, well, it's not applicable in this situation because I know you love him."

"So you do love him?"

"He's my friend's mentor, Gilan's friend, my comrade, and my mentor's foster son. Nothing more."

"Hmm."

SHUT UP YOU ANNOYING BRAT! "What are you hmm-ing about?" I asked, still hostile.

"Why don't we let Will decide instead of fighting?"

She was way, way too diplomatic. I wanted to fight so bad. Because I knew what Will's choice would be. Alyss was there first, they'd known each other longer, and she never kissed another guy.

"Fine! You win, Alyss. You win Pauline and Halt and Will and the whole life you lost, all right back in your pretty little manicured hands. I'm just your little doppelganger, your replacement, don't worry about me! Just ignore me and take everything I ever wanted like the rest of the world. Take my place as Halt's apprentice while you're at it. Go on missions with Will and live happily ever after."

I felt her hand close on my hood and folded my arms across myself protectively.

"My god, you look like me…"

"So I've been told."

"Will used you as a second me while I was gone?" She asked. "So he is still in love with me? All this time I was worried he'd moved on."

I only heard three words of that. Will. Used. Me.

I was going to have a few choice words for him after I saved his hide.


	20. Up On the Rooftop

**General Announcement: This is the last chapter. *waits for that to dawn on people* But I'll be back—I'm starting a new one. An excuse to jump a year forward in story time. A sequel, I guess.**

"Lady Stalon, what are you planning?"

"A plan." I said. I jabbed the map with the arrow I was using as a pointer. "See that box?"

"It's a bit lopsided."

"Alyss, shut up."

"Sorry."

"The box is the inn. Now, I sent a very well paid farm hand to knock on the inn door. A guy in full armour answered the door and told him the inn was closed for repair. He could see a longbow and a green cloak inside, and heard someone call the knight Keren."

"He's using it as his hideout now?"

"It's got to be warmer than this place."

I'd taken over his old camp. It was cold. And believe me, I had six fires going, in a ring around the camp, and a bed of hot coals in the center.

"Now, my friends are in there. I don't know how many are alive, if any."

"What are your friends' names? I know Gilan and Will."

"Elizabeth Teske, Marissa Bruce, and Adrianne Pichardo."

"Pichardo?"

"What?" I asked.

"Her mother is the King's late wife's stepsister."

"Oh dear."

It was her turn to ask. "What?"

"If you know that after years of not existing, Keren does too."

"You think he's going to ransom her?"

I nodded. "Yes. And probably enlist Halt's help to get him out of the country. The King will pay up and he can buy a barony in Gallica, and Halt will get him out alive if it saves Will and the others." Which it might not.

"So we've got a chance of saving them. What's your plan?"

"Ever climbed a tree, manicured girl?"

x-x-x-x-x

"I can't believe you talked me into this." Alyss muttered.

"Shut up." I hissed. "Come on, you can make that jump. Just do it quietly."

She dropped to the frozen roof of the inn from the tree branch. "Happy?"

"Don't fall. Well, feel free to fall, but save it for after we get Will out. Then you can get killed all you want."

"Is there a fire going?" She asked sharply.

"Not that I can see. If there is, well, it would be nice knowing you if you weren't going to steal my guy the first chance you get."

"I could say the same."

I laughed emotionlessly and climbed into the chimney. At least the pastels would be going away, I thought as I let go of the edges of the chimney.

Worst entry ever. I literally fell into the room in a cloud of dirt and soot. It was clumsy and totally not quiet or stealthy. The opposite, in fact. It was loud. Really loud.

I looked up and saw Keren standing over me with a sword, looking bewildered. "Oh, hi." I said cheerfully. "I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop in."

I heard muffled laughter. Will stifled it immediately as Keren turned around. Everyone was still alive, even the tavern keeper and his daughter.

Keren raised his sword. Oh, crap. I rolled out of its way just in time. Two hairs' breadth from my nose, a thin steel edge was buried in the wooden floor.

I kept rolling (in the oppposite direction, I'm not that dumb!) and found a sword. Thank you, Gilan.

Once I had rolled onto my back, I could jump to my feet with the sword. (**Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. [yeah, I went there]**) "I'd throw my glove at you but it's frozen to my hand right now. I challenge you to a fight, one to one combat."

"Any particular reason I shouldn't just order my men to kill you here and now?"

"Killing Halt's apprentice without a fight is so not going to help you. If I resist it's my own fault for not cooperating." I responded, every bit as icily as Keren.

I saw a flicker of movement at the window: Alyss falling to the snowdrifts below. _Please tell me you have a plan, Alyss, because I so did not have a plan_.

Which reminded me. Will could not find out from Keren that Alyss was alive. He had to hear it from me. Keeping it from him until after the fight would be stupid. So I took a deep breath and ignored my heart—God it hurt. Must. Not. Look. At. Will. I didn't know you could actually feel heartbreak in your chest. "Okay, Will. Will, Alyss is alive."

In the meantime, Keren attacked me. His men were unmoving, watching it. Niiiice. Good to see being evil gets you loyal henchmen.

Parry, lunge, overhand backhand, parry again… Dang, he was good. But MacNeil trained me from an even younger age than Gilan.

One of the henchmen decided to help his boss and circled behind me. I put my ability to do a backflip to good use: I threw the sword into the air behind my head, did the flip to avoid Keren's next swipe, and landed just in time to catch the sword and run it through the guy.

I paused for a moment. "Whoa, did I really just pull that off?" Then Keren was in range again and it was back to the whole mortal combat thing.

There was another flicker of movement, this time from Elizabeth. My slippery comrade-in-arms had freed herself and was currently stepping daintily over the bodies of the two guards.

She untied Will and Gilan before jumping into the battle (literally—she took a massive frog leap and barrelled right into another minion).

"Who trained you?" I asked through gritted teeth as Keren nearly decapitated me. Again.

"MacNeil."

"That explains it."

Keren sidestepped my next blow. "He trained you too?"

"Only the best for the Stalon family." I answered. "Why'd you go through with it? I've read the files on Macindaw. You could have asked your cousin to let you have the castle when he died instead of poisoning him. Orman doesn't seem the Baron type."

"Yeah, well, I'm used to people taking whatever I want."

"I know the feeling."

"You have no idea what it's like."

"It's like your life is a black hole and the only way to escape it is to forget everything that makes you who you are and take over your fate. It's like the whole world's aim is to make you miserable and you get what you want just long enough for someone to take it all away again."

Keren stopped and his swordhand went limp. I had a clear shot at his heart. I could end it. But I didn't. I lowered my own sword.

"You see Gilan there, the blonde Ranger giving us a what-the-heck-are-you-doing-now-Rosabel look? That's my only surviving family member besides Marissa there, with the wavy brown hair. She's my foster sister. And Adrianne and Elizabeth, they're my best friends. I used to have another best friend, but she died because my personal enemies escaped on my watch. My father died saving me from those enemies and my mother died of the sickness. Halt and Pauline and the rest of the people in my camp are like my family. And I'm in love with Will. But he's in love with Alyss and she's back, so she'll be Pauline's little golden child again and Will will be Halt's and those four will live happily ever after. And I kissed my friend Kory, so you'd think I'd have him to go back to, but he's actually in love with Adrianne, so they're going to run off into the sunset too. And there's Henry and Anne back at camp, but they're so close I'll always be the third wheel. So that leaves Gilan, Beth, and Marissa right? No, actually, because Marissa is in love with Gilan and they're going to get their happy ending too. And then Beth, she's going to go out and have all sorts of adventures, probably with her Skandian boyfriend."

I finished that all in one breath and Keren was still staring at me.

"And yeah, Keren, I want to go back and change everything. But you know what? I can't. And neither can you. But you can face up to the fact that you screwed up and maybe you can escape with your life, maybe a banishment."

"Duncan will kill me."

"Not if we ask him not to. Will's friend Horace, that knight who helped bring Macindaw down? He's now married to Cassandra. Keren, just lay down the sword and I will do everything within my power to help you."

Keren put the sword down.

I was just about to start congratulating myself when I realized Keren's henchmen weren't all dead. In fact, that particular tidbit of information stemmed from the fact that there was a swordpoint in the middle of my back.

"You may believe them, Keren, but I don't." He said.

I felt an inexplicable burst of pain followed by numbness, all accompanied by Alyss kicking in the door and throwing a knife into my attacker. I fell to the ground. I tried to break my fall, but my limbs weren't working. I didn't feel the floor. Interesting.

x-x-x-x-x

"Will she be okay?"

That was Gilan's voice. Interesting. My eyelids fluttered open and I found myself in a clean bed surrounded by white curtains. And infirmary.

"Perfectly fine." Someone else said. "Ah, she's awake. Hello, Rosabel. I'm Malcom."

"Always a pleasure to meet a fellow sorcerer." I said, grinning ever so slightly.

Gilan squeezed my hand. Ooh, I could feel my limbs again. "Rose, can you move your feet?"

I felt my toes wiggle. "Yeah." I said, as I sat up. They rushed to support me.

"I told you she'd be fine." Malcolm reminded Gilan.

"Where is everyone? How long have I been asleep?"

"Everyone, as you put it, is off getting reacquainted with Alyss." Gil said.

"Sorry about Jenny."

"I know."

"I hate to interrupt, but I need to tell Rosabel my diagnosis. Your spine wasn't severed, but severely damaged. You've been asleep for a week. I think you'll be able to walk without aide in another week."

"When can I go back to being a Ranger?"

"It'll take a year." Gilan said quietly.

"Oh." I said simply. "Where's Keren?"

"He was banished. You're a hero."

"Like Alyss." I muttered darkly. "Yipee."

Gilan and Malcolm exchanged knowing looks.

"I need to talk to Will."

"I'll go get him." Gilan said, standing up.

I shook my head. "No. I want to walk."

"I've got crutches for you." Malcom said. "Don't overwork yourself." He added as I got to my feet, nearly fell, and leaned heavily on the crutches.

I rolled my eyes and slowly walked out of the room. I was in a clean outfit. Marissa's doing, I imagine.

Out in the hallway, the Rangers and the princess and Horace and Kory were talking to Alyss.

Will saw me first. I nodded for him to come over.

"Rosabel, are you okay?"

"Fine. How's Alyss coping with coming back?"

"She's great. Thanks for saving her. Listen, I know things are…"

"I get it, Will. You love her, she loves you. I won't come between you. Whatever we were, it's over. I'm over it anyway. If you ever need a friend, or if Alyss needs a bridesmaid, you know where to find me. I'll be in here in Castle Fenwick."

"Oh. Okay. So... We've got to go back to Seacliff. See you in a year?"

"Yeah, Will. I'll see you in a year."

Alyss came over and asked him something quietly. I turned away and went back towards the infirmary. I took one last look at him before I left, but he wasn't looking back. Of course he wasn't.

"Goodbye, Will."

He didn't hear me.

The End.


	21. Back and Ready For Action

**I'm back. I can't stop writing this story. I don't want to, even if I could. So…**

Seven months later:

"Ow. Ow. Ow." I felt like I was going to snap in two. "Malcolm, do I really need to be able to do this? I couldn't do this before I hurt my spine."

He looked up from his notes. "I need to make sure your muscles are working."

"They certainly won't be. And it's not helping that you get to sit and relax while I'm—ow."

We were out on the rooftop terrace of Castle Macindaw. Malcolm had agreed to help me full time. Apparently he's researching injuries and deformities and how to heal them. But I had to move to Macindaw. I didn't mind much: Fenwick reminded me of my last mission and my parents.

And Macindaw stayed nice and warm with that cool northern breeze all summer. Fenwick, since it's so near the ocean, is really hot and sticky despite being in the north.

"Malcolm, _please_ can I go back sooner?"

"Your spine has healed better than expected. It seems the diet change helped."

I'd been eating a lot of protein, all sorts of leafy green stuff, and milk. I would kill for a cup of coffee. "Sure, Malcolm, whatever you say. Can I?" I asked, falling sideways out of the stretch. My muscles screamed in protest.

"Try a cartwheel." He said, still absorbed in writing something.

I did a round off, followed by a flip and then a sommersault. "Happy, Malcolm?"

"Estatic." He said sarcastically. "You ought to get going if you want to get back to Seacliff before the next storm."

"Seriously? I can go back?"

"Indeed."

I climbed onto the edge of the battlements and yelled, "YES!"

x-x-x-x-x Will POV x-x-x-x-x

"Did you close up all the windows yet?" Halt asked.

I looked up. "Erm, no. I was lost in thought. I'll go do that."

"Where has your mind been?" He said, shaking his head. "You've been weird for seven months. You do realize you can write her a letter?"

I swallowed hard and looked down at the table. The letter from Alyss was still lying open on it. I couldn't help hearing Rosabel's voice in my mind whenever I looked at it, like it was her writing and not Alyss. But it wasn't Rosabel. She hadn't written anything to me. The others could paper the walls of the cabin with the letters she'd sent them, but I hadn't heard a word from her since she whispered goodbye in the corridor. I stood up and pushed my chair in abruptly.

The thunder rolled by outside as I walked slowly to us guys' bunkroom. The shutters were flapping in the gusts of wind blowing in. I closed the window and started to close the shutters, but I couldn't. It was raining now, harder than ever.

"_I love you and I have ever since Gilan brought you to dinner three years ago. I will fight for you every day if you say goodbye and I will fight beside you every day if you don't. Goodbye, Will."_

Interesting. I was now hearing voices.

The horizon was gray and watery. I tried not to take that as an omen. As I watched the rain, I could see a small figure riding over the horizon.

At first all I could think was "voices and hallucinations?" but then I realized it was no hallucination. I closed the shutter and stepped away.

Rosabel was back.

x-x-x-x-x Rosabel's POV x-x-x-x-x

I jumped off of Belladonna's saddle with my pack in hand and promptly dropped it in the mud. A familiar figure had thrown open the door to the cabin. I ran to him, and he sprinted out into the rain and caught me in his arms.

"Will!"

"Rosabel."

"Yes, I do appear to be Rosabel. How odd."

He laughed. "You're back early." He said, his voice full of wonder.

I felt that familiar tugging as I remembered we were just friends. I stepped away. "Yeah. I'm back early. Where's everyone?"

"Indoors. They're probably brewing a pot of coffee and laughing at us for being soaked."

"Like old times." Like before Alyss came back. Please tell me you're thinking the same thing…

"Things were simpler then." He said quietly. "But I'm glad you're back. We need a danger magnet, things have been utterly normal."

"Well, don't worry. I'll put everything back to the way it was or I'll die trying, and that's a promise. "

Surely Will wasn't dumb enough to miss something _that_ obvious.

He looked at me strangely and I met his eyes with anger boiling up. "You used me." I said suddenly.

"What?"

"I knew it. I'm Alyss's little doppelganger. Don't even bother denying it, I'm not a complete idiot. If I wasn't just her replacement you wouldn't have immediately went back to her, you would have given me a shot. But no, of course you didn't.

"Nope, you left me and proposed to her. Do you think you're clever, taking the damned ring off before you came out here? You've got a neat little tan line there, did you know that? And your knuckle is red from being squeezed as you slid it off moments ago.

"Trying to make sure I wasn't hurt, weren't you? It's a bit late for that, don't you think? You broke my heart, Will, and now you're treating me like a child. Yes, I'm younger than Alyss, but I'm every inch her equal.

"And I've got more friends. Did you really think that no one told me? Did you think Adrianne, Marissa, Elizabeth, Anne, and Henry didn't decide to tell me? Hell, Gilan and Halt told me."

Utter. Silence.

"Um, hi." Someone new said. I looked up and saw two girls, about a year younger than me. They were obviously twins.

"I'm Vanessa, and this is my sister Carmen."

"I'm Rosabel."

"We know." Carmen said. "Everyone here knows."

"Oh. Haha. I guess it'd be hard not to."

"Yeah." Will said, looking dazed.

Hmm. It seemed I could daze Will…

Yeah, I was back and ready for some action. And I was gonna make sure everyone knew that. Starting with Alyss and Will.


	22. New Low: Missing Kalkara

**Allow me to provide some insight into Rosabel's thoughts: Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend."**

**Now that you know how POed she is about all this… Let the story commence:**

"Are you positive you want to do this?" Marissa asked.

I looked at her incredulously. "Heck yeah."

"Okay. Elizabeth, Vanessa, and Adrianne: I'll need your help. Carmen, if Halt comes anywhere near here say something about the Solitary Plains so we can move to look like we're poring over our history notes."

"What are we supposed to do, exactly?" Adrianne asked. "Pull out any frizzy hairs?"

"Exactly. When I was six, Mother realized my hair was a mixture of smooth, wavy hairs and ridiculously curled and kinked hairs. The kinked ones make it poof out."

"That's going to hurt." Vanessa commented.

"Yep." I said. "So hurry up."

x-x-x-x-x

It's amazing what pulling out fifty hairs does to the rest of your hair. My hair fell softly around my face, framing my features with gold. It cascaded down my back and actually looked like it'd been combed for once.

Marissa had attacked my skin with sulfur soap, scrubbing it until I was sure the freckles on my nose had washed off. Elizabeth spent an hour showing me how to look confident. Vanessa fixed my tunic, cutting off loose threads and lint. Carmen replaced the laces on my boots. Adrianne had bought me a black leather belt that wasn't frayed at the ends or scratched up.

Apparently a war and more battles than I could count really wears on your clothes and skin.

Anyway, I walked out of my room the next morning looking like I should have looked next to Cassandra.

"Good morning." I said to Gilan and Halt. I'd splashed cold water on my face until I was wide awake, so no grogginess.

"If you say so." Gilan yawned. "I'm not convinced."

I laughed and walked into the kitchen, which was dark. I was the first one up and about.

A line of bleary Rangers shuffled in as I flipped the pancakes and caught them again, all with the pan. Epic win.

"What's for breakfast?" Will asked as he picked up his plate. We've got meals down to a science, assembly line style.

"Pancakes, eggs, bacon, and coffee." I responded. "Hungry?"

He stopped dead and looked up at me. "Rosabel?"

"Must you always answer questions with questions?" I quipped. Never mind the fact that I just did. Twice.

"Um. Yeah, I'm hungry."

I pushed a plain pancake, some eggs, and two strips of bacon onto his plate and handed him a cup of coffee.

"Thanks…"

Kory was next, hovering awkwardly. I beamed at him and gave him a blueberry pancake and eggs. He doesn't like bacon, but he really loves blueberries. Will was now officially freaking out. My favorite thing to do was screw with Kory by putting the wrong food on his plate. Adrianne and Elizabeth both swept their hair over their shoulders so they could laugh without Will seeing.

I sat down at the table after I served the rest of them and tried not to look at the spots where Anne and Henry used to be. They'd graduated while I was gone.

I was so hungry that I could have shoved the pancake in my mouth and finished it off in one bite, but I carefully cut it into little cubes and ate them one by one. Then I carefully divided the bacon into bite sized bits too.

By now even Marissa, who knew exactly what I was up to, was staring.

I. don't. eat. slowly. End of story.

Sounds boring, right? Well, I'm not sure I've ever mentioned it, but I'm five foot seven when I'm standing straight up, and I really do look like Alyss, especially now that she had longer hair.

Yep. I'm being nice, diplomatic, and, well, _Alyss_. Let's see how Lady Alyss will take it when she learns her boyfriend is spending all his time with her identical copy, aka Will's ex-girlfriend, shall we?

Because if we were interchangeable, what would stop him from using me as his Alyss prop again while she sailed off to make peace treaties with the Temujai…?

x-x-x-x-x

"What exactly are you up to?" Halt asked as he followed me. I was picking my way through the forest in search of juniper. We had to replenish our first aid kits, since berries dry up fast.

"I am trying to find juniper." I responded. "Isn't that what you want?"

"At the moment, I don't know what I want besides you back to normal. And I daresay Will feels the same way."

"Stay out of it, Halt. You know fully well that this is between me, Will, and Alyss. If you get involved, Pauline will too and there's just going to be more of a problem. Or do you want another love triangle?"

"Pauline and I are already involved. You're my apprentice and Pauline's little project, Will's my apprentice and Alyss is Pauline's."

I stopped to check a clump of evergreen bushes. "Looks like I have more points, then." I said as I caught the familiar scent of juniper.

"This isn't a game, Rosabel."

"Yeah, well, if it isn't a game why is Will playing with people's feelings?"

"Knock it off." Halt snarled. "I am sick and tired of this. You demand that Will treats you as Alyss's equal and then act like a child."

"Oh, you're one to talk. You threw two different nobles into their own moats and threw a hissy fit in a bar when Will was gone, and you're lecturing me on how I'm taking losing him? You're just on his side. It's not enough that Pauline and Gilan are on his side, oh no, you have to too. You're just another Alyss! I wish Crowley was my mentor."

"Rosabel!"

I ignored him as I stormed off. I wouldn't mind a Kalkara right now. Or any enemy, really.

Okay, seriously, wishing for a Kalkara? You would think I'd know better than to jinx myself like that by now.


	23. To the Dark Side

**Marissa (Eva Cormac): "Bugs are not the answer."**

**Rosabel (Theodora Miller): "Bugs are always the answer."**

WILL'S POV, about 24 hours after last chapter's end:

My head was pounding. Literally. I could hear it throbbing. And I could hear ragged breathing.

Where was I? What happened?

Flashes of the last days came back: Rosabel coming back, fighting with me; Rosabel turning into a second Alyss, being utterly calm and ladylike; hunting for dock leaves, blinding pain in my skull.

My eyes flew open and I jerked upright. Not a good idea; my head protested violently. I felt a stomach pang and wondered how long I'd been out.

I peered through the gloom. "Thank God, you're awake." Elizabeth said; she sounded miserable and her voice broke, like she'd been crying. She was hunched over with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them protectively.

I saw Adrianne rocking back and forth while Kory murmured comfortingly in her ear. Gilan was holding Marissa as she sobbed. Crowley was deathly silent, staring down at an unconscious Halt, the source of the ragged breathing.

"Where's Rose?" I asked. "Is she—"

"She's not here." Beth said quietly.

Oh God. I pulled myself together."Where is here, exactly?"

"As far as we can tell?" Bess asked. "The ruins of Gorlan."

I listened intently. I could hear the flutes ever-so-faintly.

"It seems you're not as stupid as you look." An eerily familiar voice said quietly.

Okay, how many of my old enemies can come back from the dead within a year?

I stood slowly. "Morgorath?"

The man sighed. "You don't know my name. I suppose that's alright; plenty of time for you to curse it later." He sounded like he was trying to be pleased about that, but bitter hatred twisted it.

"Who are you?" I shouted.

"Patience, Will Treaty. Good things come to those who wait. I am proof of that."

"You know my name but I don't know yours. How is that fair?"

"Life isn't fair." A girl said coldly.

Please don't let that be who I think it is…

Beth tapped my shoulder. "Please tell me that's not who I think it is."

"It isn't." Marissa said. "It can't be."

"Bring the prisoners to the throne room. I tire of this lighting." The man said. I heard only one set of footsteps, but the girl's voice moved with the man up the stairs. She moved silently.

I felt rough hands on my arms and tried to twist away. As my captor dragged me to the stairs, showing considerable strength, I caught sight of it.

A wargal. And I'd thought things couldn't be worse.

"Have the ships left the port?" The girl was asking.

"Yes." He said with relish. "They set sail this morning.

"How soon will they return?"

"It will take weeks, but I promise it will be worth it."

I heard a rustle of cloth as I was yanked out of the dungeon and out into the ruins."Indeed." She mused. "I'm glad I met you."

The wargal kept hold of me even as I shoved it into a wall with all my weight and trashed about.

I heard Adrianne's steady reel of threats and curses aimed at the wargals. Gilan was cooperating fully, trying to strike up a conversation with the creatures. Elizabeth had fallen deathly silent again. Crowley was half-carrying, half-dragging Halt's lifeless form as two wargals shoved them along.

Finally, the maze of ruins gave way to a flat stone surface with most of all four walls. Against one wall were two weather-worn stone thrones. Sitting in one was a dark haired man who bore heavy resemblance to Morgorath. Beside him was the woman, who was wearing a mauve velvet cloak over a silvery gown.

"Oh, look, Judchory. It seems we have visitors." She said superciliously.

I glared up at her as I was forced to my knees. "Hiding your face? That seems out of character. Ashamed of yourself?"

"Not at all. I merely enjoy your…" She pretended to cast about for the word, still speaking softly. "Suspense."

"Please, this isn't you." Gilan said. "Don't do this. You can't." He pleaded.

"You don't know me anymore. Don't presume to tell me what is and isn't me. You have no idea what I'm capable of. I will do anything I want now because I have nothing to lose."

"Look, do you believe that a butterfly would ever choose a bird over a flower?" I asked.

Her fingers tightened on the arms of the throne. "Cranes have a funny way of stealing things."

"That's the problem with you. Even though you came second, you're the first choice. Always and forever. You were right when you said life isn't fair."

"That still doesn't explain your actions. You broke me."

I struggled with the Wargal, and she raised a hand and waved it away. I climbed to my feet and took a step towards her.

"Fine. I get it, you want revenge. Do what you want. I'm not going anywhere. Break me, why don't you? Kill me. But first I want to see your face. Don't hide from me."

She stood up and pushed the hood back. Her gray eyes were shining, her head was held high like the battle for Judchory to take Araluen was fought and won, and her blonde hair was as beautiful as ever.

It was no wonder Judchory was falling all over himself to help her get revenge. She was absolutely perfect, which is why she was my first and final choice.

Halt, half-awake, muttered one word that said it all: "Rosabel."

Yep. Rosabel Stalon had crossed to the dark side.

**Probably for the cookies. The dark side has coffee, too. It's really yummy. Not that I would know, of course…**


	24. Beth's Bag, Will's Power, Death's Door

**Well, I should end this story every update hahaha EVERYONE reviewed it to yell at me for hurting everyone's feelings and ending evilly.**

**A few things to clear up: **

**Apprentice of Fire: The bandits/raiders ran like heck after Rosabel took half of them out with some epic pwnage. **

**Lizzet: You obviously haven't had the best luck with the dark side, I have had their cappuccino and it is to DIE for. And I've been told by my evil minions that I make a mean batch of chocolate chip cookies. LOL.**

**Luvergirlof Books: Thanks for even more reviews; you're AMAZING for taking time to write them. I'm not done yet (*"Not Done Yet" gets stuck in my head*) so don't worry.**

**Read, enjoy, and REVIEW. That's right, click on that conveniently located hyperlink at the end of the story. Handy, not having to go anywhere after you finish. You've got no excuse that way, it's not like you can get lost on the way.**

I wondered if the twins had gotten help yet. Thank God they'd been ordered to stay in the camp and scrub the floors. It was bad enough having the others in the dungeons.

Judchory had been easy to flirt with successfully. He'd lived in recluse his whole life, holed up in the Mountains of Rain and Night.

It was simply a stroke of luck that I'd been awake. The wargals in the forest hit me on my shoulder instead of my head, but the pain knocked me flat and I had time to think fast and pretend to be unconscious.

Now, however, I was supposed to be sleeping. Judchory hadn't inherited his father's military genius. He left me unguarded in the tent with everything they'd taken from my comrades.

Including, yes, Will's ring and Beth's bag of tricks.

With the ring safely tucked away in my shoe, I was rifling through Beth's supplies. Each thing was labeled with a name written in a language I didn't recognize, where it was from (venom, leaves, flowers etc.), the form (powder, oil, extract, etc.), a detailed purpose (i.e., instant death via attacking of the nerves), and how to use it (introduce to bloodstream, for instance).

Finally I found a box sealed with wax. The label read exactly thus: Fucus Serratus leaves, to cause immediate unconsciousness by covering nose and mouth of victim with leaves.

Thank god Elizabeth was so forgetful and psychotic. I opened it carefully and saw a large clump of brown leaves. They were soaked in alcohol to preserve them. They had ragged, spiky edges and smelled faintly of salt. It occurred to me that I shouldn't smell whatever it was. My head was spinning anyway.

Wonder if it worked on wargals?

It was worth a shot, anyway, so I pulled the entire clump out and shoved it in my leather pouch.

I was barely three steps from my tent when the first Wargal came into view. I jumped him from behind and pressed the leaves to his (its?) face.

Okay, so, yeah, I could get what I wanted by working with Judchory: revenge and someone in my life who wouldn't leave. And this evil lark came VERY easily to me. But when it came down to it, I didn't want revenge or even a constant in my life. I wanted to be there to make Will laugh every day whether he chose Alyss or not, and I wanted to keep the friends I already have.

I managed to incapacitate half of the wargals there. Somehow this serrated mucus stuff or whatever it was called didn't seem very fair.

Just as I thought that, something grabbed my arm. Uh-oh. Wargal.

It started dragging me towards Judchory's tent. If he found out I was a traitor, he'd kill every single one of my friends. I dug my heels in, panicking silently.

_NO! I have to save them._

Suddenly, I realized there was an intruder on my thoughts. The wargal was watching me curiously.

_Hi. I'm Rosabel._ I thought at it. _Listen, you can drag me off to your leader in like ten minutes, but right now I need you to let me go. Please._

_Okay._ It seemed to shrug.

_Um… Why are you listening to me?_

_Master not nice. You nice._

I had to laugh. _You need to get out more if you think _I_'m nice._ I ran towards the cellar doors and threw them open. "Anyone feel like a little stroll?" I asked.

Elizabeth practically flew out of the dungeon, tackling me and pinning me to the ground. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"Um, saving our hides. Duh."

"How did you get here without the wargals stopping you?"

"Fucus Serratus and some weird accidental mind control." I replied.

"Why weren't you knocked out?"

"The wargals hit my shoulder instead of my head, I fell over, and then it occurred to me to pretend I was unconscious. When Judchory showed up I just pretended to come to and had a chat with him."

"She's clean." Beth said. "Let's go."

Everyone climbed out of the dungeons. Halt was still unconscious. I completely avoided Will's eyes and crouched beside my mentor. His breathing was ragged and I could hear fluid in his lungs. He needed to wake up and move around so fluid would stop settling there.

"Rosabel, have you got my pack?"

I handed Elizabeth the bag and she immediately began rooting through it. Finally she came up with a small bag made of tulle, filled with a white powder. I recognized it as salt of hartshorn.

She waved it under Halt's nose and he jerked awake. "What is that blasted smell?" He snapped.

"Salt of hartshorn. Get up and feel free to cough." Elizabeth said briskly.

I watched him closely. He stumbled and immediately, all of his apprentices and Crowley rushed to help him.

"Everyone let go of me. I'm not an invalid."

"Halt, sorry for arguing with you!" I said quickly.

"I'm not dying, so stop acting like I am. Where are we? And what is that ungodly sound?"

Crowley relaxed as he realized Halt was perfectly fine. "The flutes. We're in Gorlan."

"We need to get out of here. I'd say stay and fight, but you have no idea how dangerous Judchory is. He's out for blood." I said.

"Who's Judchory and how would Rosabel know?"

"I managed to convince him I was on his side, wanting revenge against all of you. Judchory is… He's Morgorath's son."

"WHAT?" Marissa said. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. Absolutely dead serious." Judchory said coldly, stepping out from behind a crumbled wall.

I swore under my breath. He had fifty wargals, fully armed, standing beside him.

"Everyone leave." Will ordered. "I'll handle this." He shoved Elizabeth away. She looked over her shoulder, obviously considering staying, but Crowley murmured something about Halt.

I looked up and met Will's eyes. "I'm one brave idiot." I reminded him, pulling my sword out and throwing my double scabbard to him.

"Is this fighting for me or beside me?"

"That depends on whether or not you say goodbye."

"I don't. I never will."

We stood back to back as the wargals circled us. I could hear my heart beating twice as fast as terror overwhelmed me. I wondered if Will could hear it and if he was just as scared.

"Is it just me or is this the scariest battle we've ever fought?" He asked quietly.

"Definitely just you." I joked. "Are you forgetting the Kalkara?"

"No, but there weren't fifty and we weren't limited to two knives and a sword among ourselves."

I closed my eyes for a second, composing myself. When I opened them, the wargal nearest me raised its sword. I parried it. The steel of its sword screamed in protest as mine left a deep nick in it. Another wargal moved towards just as the first one swung again. I kicked the first one back onto the sword of his comrade and ran my sword through the second.

Two more stepped forward. I swept one's feet out from under it, chopped the other's head off, and still my sword was screeched to a halt by the first of three more. They just refused to flee. Annoying little things.

I used one as a shield and killed another as the third killed my little shield for me. The first one lashed out with his dying breath and hit the wrong one. Soon an entire group of them were fighting amongst themselves. Judchory's mind control was weakened by his rage.

"Hey, Judchory! Did you know the entire kingdom celebrated when your father died?"

He screamed in wordless fury.

"Will, concentrate and you'll be able to make yourself heard mentally by the wargals. They'll listen to whoever has the strongest willpower."

"Brilliant. Just don't let Elizabeth know that."

"Believe me, I won't."

He laughed quietly and suddenly, the wargals stopped attacking us.

Will had done it.

I dropped my sword and gasped for air. I hadn't realized how fast I'd been moving until I stopped. "Hey Will—willpower."

Judchory ran at me with his sword. I couldn't duck or move because Will was behind me. But just as Judchory was within a heartbeat of running me through, Will dived in front of me.

"NO!" I screamed, pushing Judchory away from Will and checking frantically for a pulse. My fingers, soaked with blood, kept slipping from his wrist. "Will!"


	25. This Means War

**I really need to learn to let cliffies be cliffies instead just updating again so you don't have to wait. Fail.**

I felt extremely well-rested. Halt must've decided to let me sleep in after the battle. Hmm, the battle… Wait!

The battle had ended with me getting stabbed, so why was I in a warm bed and feeling better than I had in months?

The was a quiet rustle of fabric and a chair being moved. "When do you think he'll wake up?" Rose asked quietly.

"Oh, any minute now. He probably came to a few moments ago, but it'll take a little while longer before his brain decides he's ready to fully awaken." Malcolm replied.

A small, soft hand squeezed mine. "Will, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." I muttered, opening my eyes. "When did you get here?"

Alyss shrugged. "I was on my way to Redmont when Rosabel's messenger caught up to me."

I looked up at Rosabel. She was scrutinizing the label on a vial of some red liquid and was utterly absorbed in her examination of it. When it became obvious she was just trying to look busy, she set it down and listened to Beth asking Malcolm something about dosages and preparation.

"Can I speak to Rosabel?" I asked.

Alyss nodded.

"Um, alone."

She stood up and walked out, looking slightly annoyed. Malcolm and Beth followed. As Beth closed the door, she glared meaningfully at me. _Don't break her heart, Will_, the look said. _Or else._

"Where's Halt?" I asked casually.

"He's, um, making you coffee. He's been really worried. He fell asleep in the chair last night. Gilan was worried, not that he'd say anything."

"What happened to Judchory?"

"The wargals got to him."

"The wargals?"

"I inadvertently sent them after him." She responded. "He's dead. Very, very dead."

"Oh. Um, thanks for bringing Alyss here."

"You're welcome." She replied, turning away. I was struck by the inane sincerity of that response. She was literally saying "You are perfectly welcome to break my heart."

"I shouldn't be."

"But you are."

The words escaped me before I could even consider them. "Rosabel, I want to make things work between us. I wanted to call you back when you walked away. I want you, not Alyss."

"I believe you. But let's say we were together again: the next time we fought, wouldn't you wonder if you'd be fighting with Alyss if you'd chosen her instead?"

I didn't know what to say to that.

"Figure out your feelings for Alyss before you even try to figure out your feelings for me. I won't lie to you, I'm still in love with you and I want to say I will fight to make you mine no matter what, but I love you enough to want you to be happy. And that means with or without me.

"I'll be your best friend and even Alyss's because I love you. I'm sorry for how I acted before and I'll tell Alyss that too. If you come back to me, whether it's tomorrow or twenty years from now, I'm yours. No contest. If you never come back, well, you'll have a friend right here."

"What about if I marry her?"

"I'll be your groomswoman."

I sighed. "That sucks."

"It's kind of like life, then isn't it?"

She turned back to face me. "How's the scratch?" She asked.

"I can't feel it."

"You bled all over my boots." She accused. "All for a tiny little nick. It's already scabbing over. Malcolm's been applying a poultice to it that uses a warmweed alternative so it won't bother you. I asked him about it when I remembered it from your file, and he agreed that it would be unwise to risk it."

"I… Thanks."

"That's what friends are for, Will." Rosabel replied, only slightly bitterly. She walked away from me, not for the first or last time, and closed the door behind her.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x Rose's POV x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Alyss, may I speak to in private for a moment?" I asked. The blonde beauty stood up and came with me to the girls' bunkroom. I checked under the beds and on the rafters before I spoke. "I've been a bitch."

"Not really." She said, ever the diplomat.

"You and I both know that's bull. I've been a bitch to you even more than I was to the others. I acted like a child, and for that I'm sorry. I'll leave Will to you. I promise."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. So, can we be friends?"

"Sure. Why don't we just… wipe the slate completely clean?"

"Alright."

She stuck her hand out. "I'm Alyss Mainwaring, Will's fiancee."

"I'm Rosabel Stalon, Will's friend."

Friend. What the heck does that mean, anyway? Friend. I've heard that if you repeat one word often enough it stops meaning anything. Friend, friend, friend, friend, friend, friend, friend…

x-x-x-x-x Beth's POV x-x-x-x-x

Things were getting way to boring. Alyss and Will and Rosabel were all best friends now, it seemed, and there'd be no more outbursts. Heck, Halt and Rose had even apologized to each other awkwardly at breakfast.

"Decided to join the living, Will?" I asked casually as Will walked into the kitchen.

Halt walked up behind me, obviously trying to sneak up on me. He failed. "Feet off the table!" He roared.

I didn't jump or move my feet. I leaned back in my chair and laced my fingers together behind my head. "Three… Two… One."

Adrianne tugged the string and the bucket of freezing cold water fell off the rafter and dumped itself out on Halt. We'd rigged it for the purpose of getting Kory, but things worked out well enough.

"Oops." I said lazily.

"This. Means. War." Halt said, putting all sorts of threats behind each syllable.

Rosabel jumped up. "PRANK WAR!"

Ooh, this was going to be so much fun. Hmm…

Gilan looked at Crowley, asking for permission. "Let the games begin." Crowley said, grinning.

**Many, many thanks to Dodo.123 for allowing me to steal his idea of a prank war. He has the funniest fanfiction ever, featuring a younger Gilan, and I order EVERYONE to read it if you haven't already. He puts Rosabel to shame many times over. Toads, pfft.**


	26. Evil Ladybugs

**Marissa (Eva): It's true. Bugs **_**are**_** not the answer. SNAKES are :)**

**Rosabel (Theo): Don't think you want to go there. *puts evil ladybug of doom incident in latest RA story* Marissa is going to get nightmares. :p**

**True stories going into this chapter, people. *Revenge* Poor naïve 9 year old Eva came to my Harry Potter birthday party even though she'd never read the books… And thought she saw a moving shadow with red eyes (that was actually flashing LED lights behind my fence and a bird flying past) and my friend woke up very annoyed and told her it was an evil ladybug.**

**Eva loosely threatened to put snakes in my bedroom. This is what happens when people use my fears (ophidiophobia in this case) against me. And with that, I'll turn things back to my story.**

I woke up, wide awake, in the middle of the night. _What had woken me?_ I wondered.

_Ssss._ I froze, halfway sitting up in an uncomfortable position that really hurt my stomach muscles. What was hissing? It felt like there was a coil of rope wrapped around my leg, and it was moving like it was—oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.

Must. Not. Scream.

Who the heck would know enough about me to know that I was deathly afraid of snakes? I'd never told—I'd grown up with three people here. Halt didn't know I was afraid of snakes. Gilan thought I simply didn't want to die. Marissa, though, Marissa knew and she loved snakes.

"MARISSA FRANCES BRUCE I WILL KILL YOU!" I bellowed.

She started giggling and lit a candle. She was sitting on a rafter. "Bring it on, little sister."

I heard the rest of the girl apprentices laughing as I slowly sat up and pulled back the covers. Three black snakes were wrapped around my legs. I grabbed all of their heads at once and yanked them off. I stormed over to the window, threw it open, and tossed the snakes outside.

"You're forgetting I'm the little sister from hell. I'm going to bring it on, all right."

x-x-x-x-x

"Rose?" Marissa asked, looking really worried.

I slammed a bowl of porridge down on the table, right in front of her, and stalked off so she wouldn't see my evil grin. When my features were once again stormy and unamused, I proceeded to slam cupboard doors as I got the rest of breakfast ready. Everyone woke up and trudged into the kitchen to see what was going on.

Right on time, the last apprentice (Carmen) came in. Marissa had decided I wasn't mad enough to poison her food and prodded the porridge with a spoon just in case.

Fifty or so insects—and I mean everything from cockroaches to caterpillars to ladybugs to worms—crawled out as their little paper pouch broke under the thin layer of oats and water.

Marissa started screaming bloody murder. Everyone was laughing (okay, so Vanessa was screaming at the top of her lungs while Carmen pointed at her and laughed hysterically), but I was simply sitting on the counter, with a look of false, insincere concern paired with the slightest smug grin.

"You b(**profanity**)!" She yelled. "NOT FUNNY!"

I laughed. "The heck it wasn't. That was freaking hilarious. And I believe I should mention that Will and Alyss helped me collect the bugs in full knowledge of how I'd be using them."

She spun on them and started screaming at them, vowing revenge in at least seven different languages. I nearly regretted teaching her the native Hibernian language… Ah well, it made for more fun. When she started speaking in the Scotti's language, her family's native tongue, I stepped in. She only returns to it when she's seriously POed.

"Still think putting snakes in my bed was a good idea? Consider us even."

"Oh don't worry, this war is just getting started." Elizabeth said from up on the rafters.

That was an ominous statement… I looked up just as two barrels were knocked over right above my head.

A thick brown sludge immediately coated me, Marissa, Alyss, and Will. Mud. I wiped my eyes free of the stuff and laughed at the look on Alyss and Marissa's mud covered faces.

I doubled over laughing, and Will scooped up mud and smeared it in my face.

Suddenly everyone was throwing mud at each other. Will, Gilan, and I teamed up to completely cover Halt with mud. When Halt was thoroughly annoyed, I grabbed Elizabeth, ran outside with her, and jumped right into the river. The handy thing about Beth being small was that I could carry her—when she wanted to cooperate.

She came up laughing. "Oh my God, Rose, did you see Halt's face?"

"Best idea ever. I know why you did this, by the way."

"No one else wanted to get involved and I didn't really either so instead of getting involved I un-involved EVERYONE."

I was saved from the awkward thank you part of the conversation by Adrianne running, screaming, to jump in the water.

x-x-x-x-x

I knew full well Marissa would be sleeping with one eye open that night. So I approached Halt when I was dried off. "Sir, can you order Marissa to clean the pots and pans? I need to rig the room, and she's going to notice if I vanish."

"Now why would I do that?"

"I'll warn you if anyone plans to prank you and I myself will not prank you for the next 24 hours."

"Make it 48."

"36."

"Sounds like a deal." He said, before saying in a louder voice, "Rosabel, sweep the house."

"Yessir." I replied, turning away and grinning. Halt was currently on my side. Believe me, that was a good thing. Maybe he wouldn't involve me on the prank he was planning, which I'm sure was going to be diabolical.

He delegated chores to everyone, going to Marissa not last and not first and not in the exact middle.

I swept the floors quickly and moved to the girls' room. Alyss was the only person in there.

"Give me a hand?" I asked.

"Does this have something to do with the black fabric and the zipline equipment and the tiny lanterns made of red glass?" She responded, grinning.

I dipped my head, acknowledging her snooping abilities. _Well played, Alyss_. "Of course." I handed her the end of the cord that would be the zipline.

"This needs to go around that rafter." I said.

"I'm afraid of heights." She admitted. "Want me to tie the lower end?"

"Oh, okay. It'll go over there, see the hook painted gray in the corner?"

"Yes."

I watched her cross over to it. She was everything I wasn't: able to admit her faults and fears, to trust people without being stupid and naïve about it, to be calm and diplomatic, to forgive, to be serious; beautiful; graceful.

"Fire and water." I whispered. I'd made the comparison before, between Kory and Will. My prank was fire and water too. Hmm.

"Say what?" She asked as she tied the cord in a sloppy loop and put it around the hook. It looked like she was tying shoes, not a cord. "Fire and water what?"

"My prank. It combines fire and water."

"How?"

"If the cloth is wet, the lanterns won't set the cabin on fire. Unhook that end of the rope, will you? I didn't think about the knot on this end needing to pull the rope through."

"I was wondering how you were going to do that, make the prank safe."

Did that mean Will and Alyss were meant to be together? Keeping each other in check? _It's just a prank. Not a philosophical discussion._

I shook my head to clear it, climbed up onto the bed, and tied it to the rafter with a loop knot. Alyss watched me curiously. "How do you do that?"

"Tie knots?"

"Everything. Ignore the fact you're two inches from falling three meters. Know how to tie knots that fit the situation you're in. Fight so well. Let go of people you love to make them happy. Make people laugh without hurting anyone's feelings. Admit you made a mistake."

"How do you always manage to look elegant and graceful? How are you so patient with people? How do you fight your emotions without making it obvious? How can you trust me? How are you so perfect?"

"You think I'm perfect?"

"Yeah. Everyone does. That's why Will chose you."

"Please, Rosabel, don't insult my intelligence. He wanted you and you told him to give me a shot so he wouldn't be left wondering if he made the right choice."

"Will makes his own choices. I just told him what he already knew because he needed to hear it."

"What he wanted to hear was you taking him back."

"Yes, yes it was."

"What are you going to do if I marry him?"

"I'll be what I always am, his friend. I'll be proud of him when he accomplishes stuff, happy for him when he's happy, upset with him when he's upset."

"You asked how I trust you, right?"

"Yeah."

"I trust Will and he trusts you. How do you not hate me?"

"I love Will and he loves you, and we must have something in common if we're both in love with him."

"Hmm."

"Does this make us friends?" I asked as I tied the lanterns and the cloth to the pulley equipment for the zipline. I tucked them on top of the rafter.

"I think so. That or frenemies."

"Okay." She said, laughing. "Frenemies. Be warned, Rose, I will prank you."

"Oh, you don't want to start that with me." I jumped down from the bed.

She shoved me and ran out of the room. "Yes I do!"

I ran into Will—literally—on the way out. He stared at me. "What—Are you girls fighting?"

"This is war, Will, did you expect peace?"

"I thought you said you'd—wait, you're talking about the prank war?"

"Of course."

"So you're friends now?"

"Are you crazy? No!"

"I'm confused."

"We're frenemies. It's a girl thing. You wouldn't understand."

"I'd say." He muttered.

x-x-x-x-x Marissa's POV x-x-x-x-x

I woke up at what must have been midnight. I'm not easily woken up. My hand was oddly cold, like it'd been dunked in a bucket of water, but it wasn't wet.

The room was warm. Why was my hand cold?

I sat up. There was moonlight pouring in the window. I saw a black shape swooping down, and saw red eyes. I heard an evil cackle. It couldn't have been Rosabel, it came from the other side of the room and her voice doesn't reach that pitch.

Okay, officially freaking out. "ROSE!" I whimpered.

"Mmm…" I heard her stir and then roll over on the bunk above me. "What?"

"I think I just saw a phantom. It was a moving black shadow with red eyes, and it swooped through here."

"Black and red?" She asked sleepily.

"Yes." I whispered frantically.

I heard Alyss stirring now. "Marissa?"

"Yeah?"

"You saw a black and red shape?"

"Yeah!"

"It was probably an evil ladybug. Shut up and go to sleep."


	27. Pink Happens

"Aaaaaargh!" Carmen screamed.

I sighed and opened my eyes to see her standing up. I covered my eyes immediately. "Oh my god what happened here?"

"PINK HAPPENED!" Vanessa said happily.

"It's not that bad." Marissa said slowly. "Never mind. Doilies, Nessa?"

Vanessa laughed hysterically. "That was Alyss's idea. Pauline's older sister made them for her and Halt's rooms." She said.

Allow me to explain something really quickly. Vanessa and Carmen are half-Hispanian. Their father came from Hispania. Carmen could be me at a younger age and Vanessa could be a younger Marissa. I've met three pairs of twins in my life and it is my experience that one is a tomboy and one is very feminine. This holds true for them too. Carmen is Gilan's new apprentice and Vanessa is someone or another's apprentice. Never met the bloke myself, but I hear she's his last apprentice before he gets his gold oakleaf.

I opened my eyes slowly and squeezed them shut again. The walls were hung with pink fabric, pink beads were strung from the rafters, there was a bunch of wildflowers in various shades of—you guessed it—pink on every surface, and judging by the disgust on Adrianne's face as she opened the closet, the clothes were all pink.

Beth simply took a pink outfit and got dressed. We stared at her. "What? Pink has been proven to disarm people."

I tried not to think about that too hard, since the pink made my head hurt, and whirled on Ness. "You ruined a perfectly good room with the worst color EVER." I whined.

"This is unacceptable." Carmen agreed.

Something occurred to me. "WAIT!"

"What?" Everyone asked.

"If we girls hate this…" I said slowly. "What about the boys?"

I didn't have to warn Halt. It was a prank on the boys in general, not him. But even though I didn't have to… I didn't want him mad at me. So three minutes later, when I'd found my gray clothes under the loose floorboards…

"Halt, you don't want to be in the guy's bunkroom tonight. We're pinking it out."

"That doesn't sound like your style." He said. "Pink?"

"Ew, gag me with a spoon, I hate pink. Vanessa did it to us this morning. I must have been exhausted from the prank last night, I slept through it."

"Hmm."

Will, Kory, and Gilan stumbled out of their room. I stared. "What the heck happened to them?" I asked Halt.

He shrugged. "How should I know?"

They were all covered in white feathers. They looked like chickens. I grabbed Will's arm and examined it.

"Pull them off." Nessa suggested, as she came out of our room.

"They're stuck." Will said. "We tried."

"Did you guys take baths in honey and get in a pillow fight?" I asked suspiciously.

Kory looked affronted at the idea. "No!" He said. "Someone pranked us."

"Sure, sure." I replied. "A rather unbelievable cover story." I turned away and raised an eyebrow at Halt. _I suppose you had absolutely nothing to do with this?_

Halt gave me a righteously outraged look of innocence. _I would never!_

"And Rosabel," He said quietly as I poured myself a cup of coffee and added honey, "It wasn't honey. It was sap."

Wait a minute… He wasn't just talking about the sticky substance on the guys, was he? His tone had suggested that it was… Oh. I sniffed the coffee. It smelled like pine trees. I looked up, met Halt's eyes steadily, and drank the whole cup. "Excellent coffee, Halt. Definitely the best you've ever made."

Epic win.

**I know it's shorter than usual, sorry. I'm running out of pranks. Suggestions? Review with them. Blue link, you can't miss it. Add to the three pages of reviews. That's an order straight from Halt. And you don't want to annoy Halt. He'll set Beth on you.**


	28. The Last Straw

**Okay, hello readers!**

**I'd like to thank Animevampfreak10, Lizzet Nighthunter, and Scarhead8 for suggesting many useful pranks. I plan to use many.**

**No throwing snakes at me. Not cool. *picks up black widow and tarantula* I will set my little friends on you.**

**Marissa's cold hand is going to be explained in the flashbacks.**

**Sincerely,**

**Theo**

I sneezed violently. "Okay. This is the last straw." I announced.

"Not funny, Gilan." Will said as he picked up the last bundle of straw and threw it out the window.

Kory looked around. "Isn't there supposed to be a needle in here somewhere?" He asked.

"I think I just found it." Halt said, shifting. "Oh, nope, that's another damned blade of that grass."

The prank war had quickly turned into girls vs. boys with the occasional stray prank. For instance, Rosabel, Marissa, and I had all woken up with frog pillows. Alyss and Rosabel had repeatedly put something vile in each others' food.

We'd woken up to find that the girls had taken every scrap of hay and straw from the stables and covered our room with them.

"This is a war. I vote we start another battle." I said. "We need to put a watch on the room."

"My thoughts exactly. I'll—where's my saxe?" Will asked.

I looked around, but the double scabbard only had one knife in it and the entire room was bare of saxe knives.

"I don't like being unarmed," Will said. "I mean sure things have been utterly boring but…" He lifted up the floorboard. Nothing.

I heard a thud as a cupboard opened and shut. Coffee.

The girls were sitting around the table with their hands wrapped around their mugs. Rosabel was drowning the last drop of coffee from the jug. That was like six cups, _if_ she'd split it evenly with the other girls.

"We should get a move on our training." Rosabel said briskly.

Adrianne grinned. "Yes, we should."

Elizabeth set her mug in the sink. "How'd you boys sleep?" She asked casually. "Allergies really gear up this time of year. All that hay being collected, grass being cut for the last time before winter… You know how it is."

"You put straw in our bedroom." I accused.

Rosabel gave me a suspicious look, "No we didn't."

"Yes, you did." I replied.

"Where is it now, then?" Nessa asked, pointing to the room, which was devoid of any grass.

Halt pointed. "Outside our window."

Carmen walked out the front door. A moment later, she walked back in. "Um, there's nothing there." She said.

I pushed past the girls and went to look. Not a single blade. They'd done it again.

_The night before last, Halt had gone out to get more coffee beans. When he came back the the next morning, yesterday, he woke us up._

_I've never seen so much pink. Hot pink. The walls were draped in pink fabric, pinned to the wooden planks like they were to be forced to undergo a hurricane and make it through unflustered._

"_Beads?" Will had asked, poking a strand of them._

_Yep. They pinked out the room. All I could find were pink clothes, so we ended up sitting around the dining table in the still-gray kitchen wearing pajamas._

_But we hadn't quit, far from it in fact: we counter-pranked them. When the girls had left to practice under Halt's supervision (Alyss had started joining them, since Rosabel suggested she learn the basics of shooting), Will and I went looking for spiders. I found no less than six. Will found more, being small enough to climb into the dark corners of the rafters and go web-hunting._

_We put them in a box and wrapped it up, labelling it with their names and signing it "from Anne and Henry"._

_Marissa had gotten to the box first, but I knew her fear of spiders and asked her to come over to me, so she set the box down and Rosabel picked it up._

_The others watched as she opened it and me and Will shared an evil glance. But when twenty or so spiders of various sizes crawled out and up onto Rosabel's arms, I remembered that even though Vanessa and Carmen and Marissa jumped back screaming, Rosabel—_

"_Aw, look, a tarantula." Rosabel had laughed, picking up the largest one._

_Elizabeth, however, picked up a tiny black spider with a spindly legs and a rounded abdomen. "I was running low on venoms. Can you get me a jar and a scrap of muslin, Adrianne?"_

_Adrianne brought it over, tying the muslin over the jar. "Sure." She said, watching as Beth held the spider to the jar. It bit down on the fabric, and a few drops of liquid fell into it._

"_My God, Gilan, what did you think would happen?" Halt asked. "You gave them _spiders_."_

"_Will… We need to get another prank. Halt, help us?"_

"_Sure. We shouldn't talk about it here. Even the pink is better than out here—Seriously, what on earth were you thinking?"_

_As soon as Halt had plucked one of the small, furry brown one off his leg, we moved into our room._

_It was back to normal. No trace of pink._

"_How the hell did they do that?" I asked. "And why?"_

"_Mind tricks." Halt said shortly._

Marissa was staring at me without a trace of smugness. "What have you guys been drinking?"

With that, she flounced off with my niece and her friends.

Will tapped my shoulder. "Interesting, aren't they?" He asked.

"I'm still confused." Kory said. "Who's in charge? Is it Marissa?"

"Or Adrianne?" I asked.

Halt studied them. "Rosabel."

"Elizabeth." Will said. "Hands down."

"Elizabeth?" We all asked.

Will nodded, picking up the jar of spider venom. "Elizabeth."

x-x-x-x-x Rosabel x-x-x-x-x

"Oh my god, that was funny." Alyss said. "Did you hear them discussing who's in charge?"

"They were wrong." Beth commented.

I choked on the sip of coffee I'd taken from the caffeine. "They were dead on. You're so in charge."

"I'm not. If anything, it's you, Rose."

Everyone laughed. "You're so in charge." We all agreed.

This was getting boring…

"Okay, one more round of pranks. And then we need to distract them so we can consider it a win for us."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "See, Rosabel's giving orders."

"Ah, but I follow your orders and you only follow mine when it suits your fancy." I reminded her.

"We get it, Beth is in charge but Rosabel does the dirty work for her." Carmen said. "What prank are we going to do?"

"Pranks. We need to wake them up, draw on their faces, butter the floor, and put paint in buckets on the rafters. And then we steal the coffee beans and hide them with the saxe knives."

"We could steal their shoelaces too." Marissa added.

I dipped my head. "Alright. I'll find the best spots to butter, Carmen can do the drawing, Marissa can steal their laces, Beth can wake them up, Vanessa should steal the coffee beans, and Alyss and Adrianne need to get the paint in order." I said.

x-x-timejump-x-x

I crouched down and reached for the loose floorboard. My hand encountered something sticky. "What the heck—dang it, the boys cracked an egg under my bed. It's seeping down into the loose floorboards, we need a rag."

I heard Kory's muffled laughter and an "Mmph, thuh!" as someone clamped a hand over his mouth. Hmm, now they knew where my loose floorboard was.

_Don't bring the knight along next time you eavesdrop, Will._

How could I get rid of them so we could talk… "Elizabeth, can I borrow a—" Three, two… I heard Will and Kory stumble as they hurried away, probably with their hands over their ears.

Boys, boys, boys… Annoying housemates, but awesome to play mind games on.

"That was mean." Alyss said. "Brilliant, though."

"Well, if he's going to marry you he's going to have to get used to girl stuff." Vanessa commented.

I forced myself not to flinch, and Carmen (**Gibbs-style**) head-slapped her. Alyss gave me a _sorry-I-stole-him-back_ glance. I tried hard to ignore the stinging in my eyes and waved it off.

"Okay, girls." I said. "We need to stop pranking each other right now so we can concentrate on this final one."

_Alyss and I _had_ teamed up to scare Marissa—she'd hidden under the bed and dunked her hand in ice cold water before drying it (with a towel) and blowing air on it (with a bellows) on her way to her bed._

_Marissa woke up with a cold hand, and I pulled the string as soon as I heard her breathing quicken, which released the "phantom"._

_Alyss had adlibbed the ladybug thing._

_But after that, it was WAR. I put cayan pepper in her coffee, she put salt in mine. I put rat meat in her stew, she put horse fur in my oatmeal. We continued in that vein until this morning._

"Fine." Alyss said sadly, grinning at me.

I forced laughter. I was doing a lot of forcing. Like forcing the words of the next thing I said: "You need to tell Will to get a move on with the wedding and set the date ridiculously early so they'll forget the prank war in light of planning the wedding."

There was Will's happily-ever-after. Now I just needed to secure Kory and Gilan's.

x-x-x Will x-x-x

I snuck into the girls' room that night, looking for the loose floorboard. I'd taken two steps when I realized the door's hinges were oiled. That was odd; Rosabel had ordered them to be left to rust after the Harrison thing. I turned back to look at it and wondered why she'd—

There was a knife at my throat. "Want to tell me why you're in here?" Rosabel whispered, right in my ear. I tried hard not to think about turning around and—never mind.

"I took a wrong turn." I said.

She completely ignored me. "Or should I guess? Hmm… Looking for your saxe knife?"

"Um, yeah."

"It's right under your nose, pressed against your jugular."

I looked down and recognized my knife.

It occurred to me that Rose had approached me silently, without me noticing. That was hard to do. She was closer to her silver oak leaf than I ever imagined. I was that much closer to losing her.

"I'd better make sure you can find your way back to your room, shall I?"

"I think I can find it."

"But you might take a wrong turn."

I sighed and she let go of me, allowing me to walk over to the door. She followed me and closed the door, leaning against the wall beside it, watching me. I grabbed the doorknob to my room and started to turn it.

"Alyss is going to set the date for the big day." Rosabel said. "Just F-Y-I." She added as I turned to stare at me.

"Rose…"

"Don't." She said.

"I need you in my life."

She looked up at me. "Shut up." She said.

I shook my head. "I need to know if you'll be able to handle this. Can you bear me being with her and still be around me?"

"Yes."

"You can never tell anyone that I'm still in love with you."

"I promise I won't."

"And I'm going to need your help, especially if Cassandra gets involved."

"Are you in love with her?"

"I love her." I said, hoping if Rose would know the distinction. I wanted her to scream at me again, because that way I would know how she felt. Had she gotten over me like it seemed?

"Why are you marrying her?

Why _was_ I marrying Alyss? I wondered.

Because it was the right thing to do, I reminded myself. It wasn't Alyss's fault that I'd fallen for Rosabel while she was gone, and she'd been there first.

"It's the right thing to do."

She nodded. "Doing the right thing really sucks." She commented.

I guess she would know. "I'm going to do everything I can to make you happy even if we can't be together. I know you're confused as to why I'm going through with it, but I promise you I have no idea what I'm doing or if there's any other possible choice, and if there is I will take it but for now I have to do the right thing. I hope—"

"Will, shut up and kiss me."

I did.

x-x-x

I woke up the next morning when Beth slapped me. I heard Halt shout and saw ice cold water being poured on him by Rosabel. Someone else, Marissa, yelled "WAKE UP KORY!" Gilan was scrambling away from the huge tarantula as Adrianne set it on his bed, and there was a red Beth-sized handprint on his face.

We all sprung up to get them back, and I felt something tighten around my ankle. It jerked me off balance, sending me tumbling onto the ground with the other guys.

Kory was dangling off his top bunk, looking oddly comical. I was just glad I'd let him trade bunks with me. Halt was on a bottom bunk like me, but Gilan's skull was like an inch off the ground and his hair spilled onto it.

"Oh, God." I said quietly. They all had black writing on their face, and I rubbed my own and came away with charcoal-covered fingers.

I slashed the rope tying me to the bedposts and stood up. I couldn't figure out how to untie Kory. Halt took one look at Gilan ("No, no, Halt don't you—" the young blonde Ranger said) and cut him down. Gilan slid to the ground. "Dare." He finished wearily.

"Um…" Kory said, looking at me.

I hacked the rope in half and he fell. "Sorry." I said, trying not to grin. "Couldn't resist. Coffee?"

"You make it." The knight apprentice muttered.

So I walked into the kitchen and picked up the bag of coffee beans, tipping it over the mortar. I picked up the pestle as I rubbed my eyes with my free hand. But when I went to crush them, there was nothing. I picked the bag back up. It was empty.

Halt had just gotten new coffee beans, how—the girls.

I stalked over to the pantry and promptly slipped. My skull was just not getting a rest from bruising today. I ran a finger along the floorboards: butter.

Halt and the others walked out of the room. They all slipped, leaving them in a highly undignified heap on the floor, just adding to the humiliation of bruised and charcoal-covered limbs.

I sighed, my head pounding from the lack of caffeine, got up, and stormed over to the table. I pulled out a chair violently, but before I could sit down I was drenched in paint.

Pink paint, mind you. I covered my face and peeked out my fingers.

The other guys hovered, looking concerned and resigned. Three buckets of paint—yellow, purple, and an insanely bright green—were sitting on the rafters above their heads, accompanied by three girls (Marissa, Carmen, and Vanessa).

"Look out!" I said, too late. They were covered in paint too. The purple was Halt, the yellow Kory, and the green Gilan.

We'd just been something like quadrouple-pranked. By younger girls. Epic fail.

x-x-x

"You missed a fleck." Alyss said, hiding a grin. She was pointing at the stubborn spot of pink on my shoulder. We'd been in the river all morning, trying to get it off. And that water was COLD.

I glared at the girls, who were pristine and dry, and stabbed at the meat on my plate angrily.

Rosabel looked up at me, then busied herself with cleaning up the kitchen, which had also recovered from the paint.

Alyss glanced between the two of us before standing up from the table. "I've got an announcement to make."

Oh no.

"You all know Will proposed to me. But I've been thinking, why wait? So I think we should get married in a month."

Rose dropped a pan and my fork clattered to my plate. One month. 4 weeks. Thirty days. And then my fate was sealed…


	29. Ranger Corps: Wedding Planners

_I was standing in a flowing dress between Cassandra and Marissa, and the rest of the Ranger girls plus Alyss and Pauline were with me. Will was standing at the end of the aisle smiling past Alyss and right at me, and for a moment all I could think was, "my God, I've got him back". _

_The music started, jerking me out of my triumphant thoughts, and Cassandra took a slow step, and then another. As she took the third step, Marissa followed. _

_Finally, it was my turn to walk down the white carpet. I walked down that aisle, the lavender and lilacs in my bouquet giving the air an amazing smell, with more confidence than ever._

_I tried not to step on the rose petals as I went. Will glanced away from my face and smiled as he saw my boots. _

_We filed up at the edge of the altar, our respective guys opposite us. I was on Will's side of the altar, and Alyss walked up to fill in the last place in the line of girls._

"_Do you, Ranger William Treaty, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" King Duncan asked._

_Will smiled at his bride, that heartbreaking smile. "I do."_

_Alyss lifted her head, looking a thousand times more beautiful and once again I marveled at the fact that Will was in love with me. Her dress put my own silvery one to shame… _

_Especially since hers was a traditional, white wedding gown instead of a greyscale groomswoman's gown like mine._

"_Do you, Lady Alyss Mainwaring, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"_

"_I do."_

"_If anyone here has anything to say that might give reason for this pair to not be wed, I decree it that you must either speak now or forevermore hold your peace."_

_Every single person in the wedding party looked at me…_

"Wakey, wakey Rosabel." Marissa said.

I opened my eyes. The other apprentices were all staring at me. "What… did I sleep talk?"

Everyone nodded slowly.

"Did Alyss hear?"

"No. She's at the tailor's with Cassandra and Vanessa." Beth said. "They're getting worse, aren't they? The nightmares?"

I shrugged and climbed out of bed, trying to stop myself from literally shaking in weak fear. "Lots of young warriors get bad dreams after they've been in a few battles." I said. I was avoiding everyone's eyes.

"So why were you screaming, "No, Will!" the whole time?" Beth asked.

"Because I was seeing a lovely little replay of Judchory stabbing him."

They exchanged glances. "Hmm."

"I'm fine, really. Oh, was that the door? Bet it was Alyss. Did she decide on the color scheme yet?"

"No you're not, yes it was, yes it was, yes and it's purple." Beth said.

Purple. Like lavender and lilacs?

"Did you guys mention that a few minutes ago?"

Adrianne nodded. "Beth was drafting a letter to her parents to see if Alyss could get discount on lavender if she wanted them."

Okay. Okay. It was just a dream. I hadn't randomly turned into a real sorceress overnight and started seeing the future.

"Rosabel? Will wants you to come out here, because you're a better judge of moderation." Cassandra said, appearing in the doorway. "Morning, girls."

"Good morning, Princess." We chorused dully.

"Stop doing that. It's creepy." She said. "Call me Cassandra. Or Cassie."

"Sure, Cassie." Marissa said. "Sorry, we're all in formal mode. Wedding stuff and official public ceremon procedure for Rangers and whatnot."

Beth grinned. "You forgot the 'what to do in case Will forgets his lines' procedure we were lectured on."

"Good to know we're prepared for that." Will said dryly from behind the princess. I ducked my head as I pulled on my boots. We hadn't spoken or actually met each other's eyes since the kiss.

But I'd made a promise. "So, Willers, want me to see what I can do about working a neutral color into the color scheme?" I asked cheerfully.

"Willers?" Will asked.

"Gilan." That's all I needed to say.

Will disappeared and I heard Gilan say something along the lines "Uh-oh" as he threw the door to their room open.

Why was he marrying her? How was it right to play her emotions along like this? How was it right to trample all over my heart on the way down the aisle?

But I was his best friend now…

x-x-x

I leaned over Alyss's shoulder. "Okay, Alyss, let's see what we have here. Is this a sketch of the gown?"

"Yes." She said.

My God, it was perfect. Pin up skirt, a cinched and beaded bodice, and a silver star shaped adornment at the front of the empire waist. And strapless, with a sheer v-neck strap that met the back like normal straps and ended at the silver emblem on the front of her gown.

"Will is going to love it."

"But remember," Cassandra said, sitting down in the chair opposite Alyss. "You can't tell Will anything about it."

"I know this wedding lark. We need to discuss flowers and a color to go with purple. How about silver or gray?"

"Okay, that'd be an elegant color that the guys could stand. Rosabel, Will says you want to be on the groom's side?"

"Absolutely. I'm his best friend. No offense."

"None taken. It'll balance things out, since Elizabeth is going to be on my side but there isn't another guy to stand on Will's side."

"It'll be Horace, Halt, Gilan, Kory, Henry, then Rosabel on the right side of the aisle. I'll go first on the left with Horace, then Pauline, Marissa, Adrianne, Anne, and Elizabeth." Cassandra said.

"And then Alyss should go down the aisle." I finished.

Alyss shivered. "I can't believe the wedding is in just three weeks." She said.

"Alyss Treaty…" Cassandra tried out the name.

I couldn't bear that thought. I cast about for a different subject. "So, how about the guest list?"

"Well, the Rangers and us of course; Will's friends from here in Seacliff; Old Bob; and George."

"George?" I asked.

"He grew up with Will and me, and went to Scribeschool."

"Oh, okay, cool. Well, I think you should invite Master Chubb and Baron Arald." I said. "Not to mention Orman, Malcolm, and Xander."

"Right. Cassie, add their names."

The Princess didn't bristle at the order, she was too busy being excited by the prospect of a wedding.

"Does anyone know where George is?" Cassandra asked.

Alyss bit her lip. "I think he's travelling. They've been sending him to several fiefs. Something about arguments between officials."

"How is a messenger going to find him?" I wondered aloud.

The other two girls turned to stare at me. Oh crap.

"I'll go, if you insist." I said ("We do." Cassandra said) wearily. "GIRLS! GET OUT HERE!" They filed out of our room.

Alyss explained everything to them as I tied my boots (the guys were still short a few pairs of laces) and fastened my cloak. Doing anything, even though it was something to help plan Will's wedding to another girl, would help right about now.

"Tell Halt I'll be back for training soon. And make sure he gets that haircut, Beth."

With that brusque order, I stepped out of the cabin and closed the door behind me. One scribe orphan, coming up.

**Read is done. Now Review and Remember to suggest:**

**Should…**

Will marry Alyss?

Will leave Alyss?

Alyss leave Will?

Rosabel stop the wedding?

Rosabel go total-dark side and kill Alyss?

Rosabel go total-dark side and kill Will?

Rosabel go total-dark side and kill EVERYONE? Just Alyss and Will?

Will run for the hills before the wedding?

Alyss run for the hills before the wedding?

Rosabel let them get married and walk away?

Cassandra stop the wedding?

Elizabeth (insert other OC here) stop the wedding? (And how—kill someone, "speak now", bomb the wedding?)

George stop the wedding?

**Tell me what should happen. That's an order.**


	30. Bet You Sucked at Poker

**Short, sweet, and to the point: Rosabel's gone a bit dark side.**

I looked around the inn. Judging by the tension in the room, there was conflict between at least two parties. The majority of the people were standing in a ring around two men.

"I thought I told you to stay out of this tavern." The burlier of the two said threateningly.

The other man was leaning nonchalantly against the bar with his elbows on the greasy surface. His cool demeanor seemed to be further annoying the first man on purpose. "Yeah, but I don't really care."

The second man stood up lithely as Ralph took a step forward, his hand falling to the hilt of his sword.

"Excuse me, sirs." I said suddenly. "I think you could settle this debate peacefully. I'd be willing to listen to both sides and help you resolve it."

"Shut up." Ralph snapped.

"I suggest you stay out of this. I can handle him."

"Sirs!" I stepped between them and then realized my mistake. They were ready to fight and any interruption made me an annoyance to be removed.

"I thought I told you to shut up?"

"Yes, you did, but I thought that—"

Ralph ignored me and glared over my head at his opponent. "Friend of yours, Wayde?"

"I try to be civil with everyone, but I don't actually know this man." I added. "I just want to help—"

"Get out of my way." Ralph growled.

I wanted to, but I couldn't let the unarmed Wayde face Ralph alone. I really needed to stop this hero thing, I got shot the last time I'd—

Ralph swung his sword and I barely managed to duck in time. It seemed there was no easy way out of this.

I had a knife, and I drew it, but I'd barely cleared the blade from the scabbard when I fumbled it. It clattered the the ground and Ralph put a foot on it so I couldn't pick it back up.

There was a flicker of movement and I got distracted. Standing right behind Ralph was a cloaked figure with a longbow and quiver. The crowd was backing away slowly.

"Problems, George?" The Ranger asked.

"It would seem so, although one could argue—" I broke off when I realized the Ranger was a girl. "Oh."

She pulled her hood back and shook out long blonde tresses. "Stand down, Ralph Hayes." She ordered.

He turned to stare at her. "Who are _you_?"

"Ranger Rosabel Stalon, apprentice to Halt O'Carrick. It seems you've been causing a lot of trouble here in Fenwick by bullying local tavern keepers into giving you half their earnings. Consider yourself under arrest as of right now."

Ralph took three steps in as many seconds and stopped dead: the Ranger girl had brought her bow up and loaded it faster than the eye could see. "Go ahead and take another step, Ralph. Make my day." She snarled.

"You won't shoot, will you? I bet you've never killed anything in your life. Go home to Mommy and Daddy and work on your embroidery."

"I've killed a Kalkara single handedly, my parents are dead, and I fought in the Gallican War. Look me in the eyes and tell me I won't shoot you in a heartbeat."

The bully raised his sword. I knew what was going to happen as second before it did. Rosabel allowed the bowstring to slip from her fingertips and before the blade was halfway up, its owner hit the floor already dead. "Bet you sucked at poker." She said coldly, before looking up at me. "George, I've been ordered to drag you back to Seacliff with me. Alyss and Will want you to come to their wedding."

**Three R's. Read Review Remember (to suggest).**

**Should…**

Will marry Alyss?

Will leave Alyss?

Alyss leave Will?

Rosabel stop the wedding?

Rosabel go total-dark side and kill Alyss?

Rosabel go total-dark side and kill Will?

Rosabel go total-dark side and kill EVERYONE? Or ...Just Alyss and Will?

Will run for the hills before the wedding?

Alyss run for the hills before the wedding?

Rosabel let them get married and walk away?

Cassandra stop the wedding?

Elizabeth (insert other OC here) stop the wedding? (And how—kill someone, "speak now", bomb the wedding?)

George stop the wedding? (Maybe because of a crush on Alyss?)

**Tell me what should happen. That's an order.**


	31. Skandians

**You guys are awesome. Wisabel FTW! I liked "Gil and Alyss should stop the wedding with SKANDIANS" best. I've tried to work everything into one, so work with me here.**

**Also, I'd like to point out that Rangers have a flaw: your average medieval archer, even those who'd been training their whole lives, couldn't fire more than five arrows at a time without becoming incredibly tired. Yes, I researched more for fun than John Flanagan did for his bestselling series.**

**Beth POV**: Rare, but fun.

"Anne, I need you to keep your eyes peeled for anyone approaching." I ordered. "Adrianne, since you've already heard my plan, I need you taking walks around this tree and look for anyone within earshot. Everyone except for Adrianne, get up this tree. ASAP."

"With special concentration on the SAP." Marissa said, examining the pine tree branches, which were oozing the sticky liquid.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed one of the branches. "Hurry up."

"Wayward pines are great for top secret meetings; their branches are like ladders." Anne commented.

Carmen rubbed her sap-covered hands on her pants. "Speaking of secret meetings, why are we holding one?" She asked.

"We all know that Will and Rosabel are so not just friends but they're convinced the best thing to do is to pretend otherwise. You guys remember Wayde and Alyss meeting."

x-x-x-x

Rose had brought back someone besides Wayde, which I was the first to notice. The third person was running in pace with the horses.

I was faster than the horses. he others, so I reached them first. "Heya." I said breathlessly.

"Oh my _God_." The guy running said, staring at me. Definitely not George, who was the one with spectacles slung 'round his neck.

Rosabel laughed. "Told you, didn't I, Wayde?"

"This is Elizabeth, right?" He asked. "Not one of the others?"

"Right. I told him the girls in the camp were exceptionally pretty, but that you were in charge and the prettiest. He was sure you were, well, you… but he was making sure he wasn't walking into a camp of some incredibly attractive demons or something."

I ignored Rosabel and turned to Wayde. "Incredibly attractive, not really. Demons, possibly. Something, definitely."

He was still staring at me when Alyss and Adrianne caught up. Anne came skidding to a haltbehind them and Rosabel squealed, jumping off her horse so she could hug the raven-haired Ranger. "Anne Anne Anne Anne!"

"Rosabel Rosabel Rosabel Rosabel!"

"You're back!"

"Yeah, Henry should be here soon. The older Rangers are taking our places. We can't keep abandoning our fiefs to run around saving Araluen anymore."

"Are you sure?" Rose asked. "'Cause that sounds like a win-win sorta situation to me."

George climbed out of his saddle—or rather, he tried to—and his foot got stuck in the stirrups. He fell and crashed to the ground spectacularly.

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Alyss asked him. She put out her hand and he took it. Call me crazy, but there was something there, a spark that gave me a brilliant idea…

x-x-x-x

"Anne, the board please." She gave me the chalkboard.

On it, she'd drawn four people who were instantly recognizable: Will, Rosabel, George, and Alyss.

"Thank you." I propped it up against a branch and jabbed at it with my throwing knife. "This is Will. Set to marry Alyss. He's in love with Rosabel and she's in love with him. Alyss loves Will and Will loves Alyss. We all know this and until recently, no even I could find a solution. But there's a new variable. George."

"You mean he's in love with Alyss?" Vanessa said, catching on.

"Right. We need Alyss to fall for George. Then everything will work out."

"Not everything." Someone said.

I seriously felt stupid. Of course she'd figured out where we were going. Why hadn't anyone seen her? I guess we'd expected to see just branches above our head, and like Halt always said, we see what we expect to.

Rosabel dropped from the higher branch and caught herself. "I may suck at firing multiple arrows in a row at high speeds, but I am so the best at hiding." She said. "Now, I appreciate the thought, but I need you guys to respect me and Will's decision. This has nothing to do with my feelings anymore. Will is going to marry Alyss."

"The hell he is." I snapped. "He's miserable and she's barely surviving herself, because the fact that he loves her enough to do this making her feel guilty. This isn't just about you. It's about everyone. You don't have to like it, but you're going to go along with it because it's about time you grew a pair of ovaries and did something that isn't noble for once. Live a little!"

"Did you just tell me to grow a pair of ovaries?" She asked, raising a Halt eyebrow.

I shoved her and caught her wrist before she fell. "Yes. Now get out of my tree before I repeat half of that action."

Rose climbed down a safe distance before calling back up, "Since when is it your tree?" But before I could do more than growl, she jumped out of the tree, rolled to recover, and raced off towards the cabin.

x-x-x-x **Gilan's POV** just because I can x-x-x-x

Alyss was pacing a lot lately. We'd leave the cabin to check on the horses, the girls, the Princess; she'd stay inside as an incessant flicker in the windows once a minute.

I'd cornered her that morning. "Alyss, if there's anything you need to talk to me about, just ask me. I'll make sure I can talk to you in private unobtrusively."

"Okay, Gilan." She'd said, faking an unconcerned smile.

But when I came into the empty cabin that evening, she was perched on the counter looking remarkably like Rosabel. "Gilan?" She said.

"I take it you need to talk to me?" I asked. She nodded. "Alright, shoot."

"'shurtingWillbut—"

"Slow down."

"I want to get out—I don't want to marry Will. It's hurting Will and I know he and Rosabel are giving up everything to help me get my life back, I want to show that I'm grateful but that I don't really want this life anymore. And if I'm wrong about them, it'll just reopen old wounds. It just seems everyone is expecting us to pick up where left off, and I can't. I need to be sure about everything."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, if we could find someone Will and Rosabel trust enough to tell stuff, but people who won't have views on this themselves and just want us to be happy and everyone in this camp is just so devious I don't know if I can get things to work out without hurting friendships along the line so I need outsiders."

"Outsiders?"

"Yes. But they have to know Will and Rosabel. Know anyone like that?"

I was suddenly struck with an image of Rosabel drinking from a bottle of clear liquid before passing it on to another person. Skandians.

"You know, I just happen to know someone like that…"


	32. Nightmarish Nuptials

**Lizzet: I was actually considering killing Will, but I considered against it. I wrote an alternate ending to the 19****th**** chapter in which Will and Rosabel got injured by the Wargals and ran off into the ruins in the hopes of losing them, and Rosabel pushed Will off the remains of the battlements. ("If I can't have you know one can")**

**Shadow Cyrse: Yep, I used your idea. (Skandians). Thanks for the awesome suggestion.**

"Okay, Will, this is it." I said, clapping Will on the shoulder. "Just… Don't trip, don't forget your lines, and knock 'em dead."

He nodded, looking slightly green. Then the music started and I shoved him out the door. A few people saw him stumble and/or saw me push him, and they chuckled.

The heavy oak doors thudded to a close and I leaned against them wearily. It seemed making napkin rings and stamping the oakleaf seals on invitation envelopes really took it out of a girl.

Marissa met my eyes. We'd failed at making Alyss fall for George. Even Elizabeth admitted there'd been no change in the relationship between them. It was officially the end of the long road that was my relationship with Will.

"It's not official until he says I do." She whispered.

I shook my head and got in the back of the guys' line. George was on the girls side now, and Erak had become the newest groomsman (standing opposite Elizabeth, who kept making flirty eyes at Wayde all through breakfast). Vanessa and Carmen were to go in front of all of us, throwing flower petals.

I heard the lowest note in the song and nodded to Gilan to open the door. "There, that's the cue for the twins."

Then Horace took Cassandra's arm and they went. Gilan and Marissa; Halt and Pauline; Erak and Beth; Gilan and Marissa; Kory and Adrianne; Henry and Beth; me and George followed.

The rustle of crinolin alerted me to the fact that Alyss was moving. Everyone gasped and then the ladies oohed as she stepped out of the foyer and into the main cathedral, in sight of the audience.

Only I was allowed to wear the same silvery gray as the tunics of the guys, but I had to wear the same simple-yet-elegant dress. Will was wearing black, which I found oddly fitting since it'd be the funeral for us we'd be all dressed up for next. The girls were wearing purple dresses and George had purple edging on his gray tunic.

When Alyss reached the altar, she took Will's hands."I'll try to keep this short." Orman said. Will had elected for him instead of Arald, since Arald was prone to speeches. "We are gathered here today to witness a union between two young people. It is a legal and emotional bond, practiced for as long as human memory stretches.

"They vow to be spouses, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do they part. When they speak the words "I do" and seal this with a kiss, I will declare them husband and wife.

"Does anyone present have any reason whatsoever to bring forward that might keep these two souls from being bound in holy matrimony? If so, speak now or forever hold your peace."

This was my last chance. Four people said "I do!" at the same time. That was ironic. Not in that it was out of the norm or expected to say "I do" at a wedding, but that the saying of "I do" was to stop the marriage instead of to officiate the marriage.

Erak, me, Alyss, and Will.

"I personally have no idea what in Gorlog's name is going on here, but from what Gilan has told me I think Rosabel, Alyss, and Will have a few things to say." Erak said, nodding to Alyss.

"I love Will, but I don't want this life anymore. I changed while I was gone."

"I love Alyss, but I'm not in love with her anymore." Will admitted. "I'm in love with Rosabel."

"And I'm in love with Will."

I looked up at George and gave him a pointed look. "I'm in love with Alyss, I always have been." He admitted.

"And I love George back."

Orman looked at everyone. "So why are these two getting married?"

"Nobody knows." Elizabeth assured him. "They're all insane."

"So…" Everyone turned to stare at me, obviously wondering the same thing I was. "What exactly do we do now that there's not going to be a marriage?" I asked.

"Party?" Kory suggested.

I shrugged. "I don't see why not." I said. "We've got tons of food and all our friends are here."

x-x-x-x

We Rangers ended up sitting in a wide circle, having explained our plans to each other.

"I'm still confused. I thought you said that you failed at getting Alyss to fall for George." Henry said.

That had occurred to me too; by the way all eyes landed on Beth, I had the feeling everyone was thinking along the same lines. "It did. There was no change between them whatsoever. They were already in love, but because I failed to factor in the knowledge of their diplomatic and reserved natures, I thought the spark between them was simply the possibility for requited love rather than the existence thereof." She said.

"Alright." Carmen said, musing. "But how did Gilan get the idea to have Skandians be the ones who objected?"

"I knew how close Will was to them, but it wasn't until I remembered Rosabel drinking vodka with them that I decided on asking Erak to help me. I could have done it, but the bluntness of a melee warrior is always superior to that of a Ranger. And we definitely needed someone who could call you all idiots and get you to talk instead of attempting to spur you into admitting it and getting shot."

Halt stood. "I think that clears everything up."

"Not really. I'm still waiting for an announcement." Beth said.

"Announcement?" I asked.

She looked up, then counted down from ten. Just as she reached zero, Cassandra stood up and called for attention. "I've something to tell everyone." The Princess said.

A split second before she continued, the truth dawned on me.

Cassandra turned to her father. "You're going to be a grandfather."

I met Will's eyes and raised a single eyebrow. "Things just never get back to normal around here, do they?"

"Of course not. We'd get bored." He replied. "But I think there's one thing that will get back to normal."

Halt and I exchanged a glance. "Training." We said in perfect unison.


	33. Normal

**Lizzet: They're not having a wedding because they're all getting used to this new stuff, and I've always thought it stupid for characters to jump right into marriages immediately after a love triangle is untangled. Shakespeare does it all the time, but personally I think he was being satirical when he did that. And Will is going to live simply because Elizabeth would be mildly annoyed if things got screwed up all over again, and mild annoyment (that's my new word, Shakespeare invented words too) from Beth is like severe annoyment from a whole squadron of Genovesans.**

**Shadow Cyrse: Nope, not done yet (darn it, I've got that song stuck in my head AGAIN). Rosabel still has a lot to learn.**

* * *

**AN: Yeah, it's been a while (okay, 47 days). Sorry, I have a lot on my plate. Here's the chapter, enjoy and review:**

I hadn't felt that much pain in my muscles since my first months as an apprentice.

It had been a long two years, and now it seemed the end was finally in sight. Okay, so according to Halt I'll be his apprentice forever and Crowley says I need at least one, maybe two or three more years before I become a full-fledged Ranger. Seven months had really set me behind even though I was strengthening muscles I didn't know I had in that time period.

Despite the looming danger of second year testing, and the royal baby on the way, things were oddly normal. Horace was back from his extended stay at the castle and Kory's training was less of me and Gilan giving him MacNeil's old trips and more of him attacking posts with a drill sword while Horace watched.

And of course, I was on a strict training regimen. Speaking of which…

"Rosabel, don't you dare stop doing curl ups." Halt snapped.

I sat up again, and stayed there with my arms wrapped around my bent legs while my stomach muscles slowly stopped burning. "Don't you think an hour of curl ups is enough? I've done 324."

"Alright," He said. I knew better than to hope my next assignment was chores. Yeah, I was down to hoping for chores. "Go work on your firing speed."

I was still terrible at that, by the way.

I stood up, shook out my cloak and fastened it, then got my weapons.

My recurve bow was showing some wear: nicks where people tried to hack it in half, slight divots in the wood from me gripping it in the same place over and over, and ragged tips where it had rested against the ground or scraped a tree as I was running.

Don't even get me started on my poor sword. It had been stuck in rafters, thrown from the tops of trees, bent from hand-numbing bows, nicked by saxe knives, and discoloured by that stubborn Wargal blood.

"Want me to teach you to shoot faster?" Will offered.

I turned and grinned at him. "Shouldn't I ask an _expert_?" I asked.

"I believe I've mentioned that annoying a Ranger is never a good idea."

"Yes, and I believe I've mentioned that I've annoyed plenty of Rangers and never died or suffered from any adverse effects. Besides, it's not ordinary Rangers you have to worry about. It's Elizabeth you have to worry about. You don't want to know what's in that bag of hers. Like, seriously. She's got everything from snake venom to sunflower seeds."

"You're stalling." He accused. "Come on. Shoot the trees around here at random, but—"

"Don't shoot any tree twice in a row because you will come to rely upon the first shot to guide the second. Oh, and don't take more than two seconds in between shots. And at the same time never rush a shot. And while you're at it, make sure you put honey in your coffee. Do you want me to repeat the lecture on keeping watch?"

"No, I got that during my own apprenticeship, thanks. Just shoot."

I brought the bow up, loaded, and pointed it at him. "Okay, I'll shoot." I let go of the string and his hood was pinned to the tree. "Long time since I did that."

"Great, now I have something else to sew up." Elizabeth said, dropping the pans she was carrying to the river and putting her hands on her hips. "Rosabel, next time just save me the trouble and thread by shooting him."

"See what I mean, Will?"

"Point taken, Rose."

"When did that start? One day it was Rahz-uh-behl and the next it was just 'Rose.'" Kory commented.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Shut up, Kor-bear."

He flushed bright red. Elizabeth had given him that particular pet name. She does creepy stuff like that more and more everyday… she flirts with all the guys. She'd adopted the name "Willers," the little-kid nickname of Gilan's invention. Gilan was "Gilly" and Horace was "wittle boy."

Kory walked off, his ears still bright red. Beth picked up her pots and pans and carried them to the river, saying something I didn't catch to him as she went. (I didn't know his ears could get any redder.)

"Rose, you need to stop releasing the bow so slowly." Will said. "I'll show you."

He crossed over to me as I pulled another arrow out of my quiver. I felt his breath on my neck as he stood behind me and guided my hands. "There's your problem. You can't tense up your wrists. There you go." He pulled back the bowstring, and then released. The shot felt fluid, like my weapons were extensions of my hands.

I didn't even pay attention to where it hit. Instead, I half-turned and kissed him. His arms tightened around me and—

"Ahem, training session." Halt called.

I stepped back and (barely) resisted the urge to make a rude hand gesture at him. Like he and Pauline hadn't skived off at some point.

Instead I responded, "Halt, shut up."

"Careful, Rosabel. He put Will in a tree for singing, I'm pretty sure he'll shoot you for back-talking."

I jumped at least a foot into the air. "Gah! Alyss, not funny." I snapped, turning on the Courier. She'd snuck up on me and started talking, something I'd warned her about previously.

"Couldn't resist. Anyhow, George and I are being sent to Gallica for treaty stuff, so I came to say goodbye before getting on the boat. And Pauline said to bring a Ranger. I was wondering if Beth might want to come."

"On a trip with you lovebirds? Gag me with a spoon, no." Beth replied, walking past with an armful of spoons. When did we get that many spoons? And who the heck invented that saying?

"I'll come." I suggested. "Halt was just saying I need more hands-on training."

Halt shook his head. "I am so not risking being trapped on a small boat with cat-fighting girls _again_."

"Again?" I asked. "You've never been trapped on a boat with me and Alyss."

"He's referring to me and Cassandra." Alyss said sheepishly.

I went all Halt eyebrow at that one. "I have got to hear this story." I said, looking between Halt and Alyss.

"I need a Ranger." Alyss reminded me.

Later, I resolved, I would drag the story out of Halt—or my handy-dandy files.

"I'd love to go." Adrianne interjected. She was half-carrying, half-dragging the practice dummy across the clearing. It looked like a giant pincushion. She's still the best at shooting.

"Great," I said, "So that's settled. Now, Halt, tell me about this catfight."

"I think you've forgotten something." He said.

I muttered a curse and turned back to the targets, raising my bow again as Adrianne and Gilan argued with Halt about the possibility of their going to Gallica with Alyss and the Georgester. Oh yeah, that's another one of Beth's nicknames.

Beth called something mildly insulting to Halt as she passed him and he merely grunted; Kory did something dumb and Marissa laughed at his antics; Alyss managed to calm Adrianne, who was hyped up about something Halt had said, down; Horace said something blunt and we all stared at him before heading back to work; Carmen and Vanessa were fighting and yelling in their native language; Will was sitting on a tree branch and watching me shoot, occasionally offering suggestions and sparing praise.

Yep, everything was back to normal around here.


	34. Hearing Voices?

_Dear Adrianne:_

_So, you've been gone a whole month and you haven't sent a single letter. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON? You're not dead, are you?_

_Anyways, I'm bored senseless. Elizabeth keeps locking us out of the bedroom, and when we peek through the window she's always at the desk, writing or reading letters. Our—well, my—attempts to filch the letters have been thwarted by six different locks and a single strand of her hair on a black box. _

_My current theory is that guy, Wayde, from when I brought back George. He turned bright red whenever she looked at him, remember?_

_I can't wait for you to come back. We can't seem to convince Halt to let us play that game anymore._

_Lots of love,_

_Apprentice Ranger Rosabel Stalon _

_PS I can't wait until I can get rid of the Apprentice part!_

_Dear Adrianne,_

_If you've gone and gotten yourself killed by Gallicans after all we've been through and survived, I will kill you. _

_At any rate, things have been boring lately. My only sources of amusement are letters from a certain male friend of mine, and Rosabel's attempts to pilfer the box I keep them in. And even those have subsided. I'm extremely suspicious at this point, and have taken to checking on rafters and under beds before getting the letters out. _

_The most amusing thing is, the letters aren't in the box! Not that she needs to know that. I'm very careful to move the box a millimetre and adjust the position of the hair and wipe dust off the locks so that she doesn't catch on._

_Halt doesn't want to admit it, but he's really worried. We all are. You'd better answer us, immediately! We expect your letters yesterday, if you can make it._

_Yours,_

_Beth_

_Dear Adrianne:_

_I hope you're not dead. I'll be very sad if you are, mostly because Kory's been a nightmare to live with since you've been gone. _

_Beth and Rose keep causing trouble just to amuse themselves. For instance, Beth waves letters in front of Rosabel's nose, only for her to find that they're not the ones from the mystery boy. Then once Rose stops grabbing the letters, she randomly starts waving actual letters from him in her face._

_And Rose stole every last piece of guys' underwear and tacked it to the ceiling. I'm not quite sure how she reaches the ceiling, but it took Kory climbing up and standing on a stack of books to take them down, and then he fell because there were all sorts of cobwebs and spiders up there. _

_Luckily it occurred to Will to put bales of hay down there and then cover them with the mattresses, so your boyfriend's okay._

_Miss you,_

_Missy_

I didn't scream. Mostly because I could barely breathe as it was. I should have been screaming bloody murder, and I really wanted to. But running comes before screaming when three hundred people are running after you. Just. You.

My feet would be tattered skin and bone by the time I escaped. I needed to start wearing shoes 24/7. Even in bed. And hawking gloves. Because apparently running through cat briar cuts you open on every inch of your body. Surely thorns that short couldn't cut through my organs…

For a moment, I was glad Gilan had pushed me to my limit every day. I can't believe I thought that, but you know what, it just might have saved my life.

Adrenaline was pumping through my veins, providing strength to my limbs.

Just when I thought I was maybe, just maybe, going to live through the night, the barking started.

This whole world was against me tonight. It wasn't enough for me to be tortured after a battle—I had to escape by falling three stories and then running through the woods.

My nightmare had begun a week after we arrived here in Gallica. Some of the people still want a war, and they stormed the castle. We tried to fight them off, of course, and Gil and I killed at least a hundred people each, all by ourselves. I take that back—Alyss helped us push the boulder off the battlements, and that accounted for at least thirty total.

Then Gil, Alyss, George, and I were captured. They quickly realised Gil was in charge and I was closest to him, and they figured I'd be the most likely to spill the most secrets.

Naturally, thinking us barely human, they didn't realise that the only way to get me to talk was to torture them. Actually, I was pretty sure they'd thought us demons.

Every last limb was blazing with pain. Maybe if I stopped and curled up in a tiny ball, they'd run right past me. A girl could hope, right?

The little voice in my head that spoke in Rose's voice interrupted the self pity. _"Up a tree, you idiot, what kind of Ranger are you?"_ She yelled at me.

I looked around and found a small tree—oh wait, never mind. That was an extremely large Devil's Walking Stick. I found an actual tree and bounded over to it. A handhold, a higher one, a foothold, a higher one… This looks SO much EASIER when Rosabel does it!

"_Surely you can do better than that!"_ Beth's voice added.

"I'm working on it; don't get your quiver in a twist."

"_Stop talking and move!"_ Halt snapped.

I made it out of eyesight just as the Gallicans crashed into the area. They called out in Gallic, and then it appeared some bright soul had the idea to set the dogs loose.

"_Into the next tree."_ Rosabel said. _"Grab a branch and _then_ find a foothold. You can do it, oh brilliant one. Just don't trip over your bootlaces and fall to the dogs—that would be rather unfortunate."_

I managed to make it onto a branch of another tree without falling onto the army. Rosabel cheered in some corner of my mind and completed her secret handshake with Marissa. It was rather… flattering… that all my voices were showing up to cheer me on.

"_Never mind the fact that you're in a life-threatening situation. Keep going! More tree-hopping."_ Will added, trying to be as Halt-like as, well, Halt.

The Rosabel in my head rolled her eyes. _"Give it up, Will, there's only one Halt."_

I tried to close my eyes on them kissing, before realising this was in _my_ head. "Hey, you can't do that in my brain!" I said.

"_For God's sake, Adrianne, you don't have to talk." _Halt snapped. _"Just _think_ at us. We're all in your head, after all."_

Okay, so I was officially insane. I giggled hysterically and jumped into another tree. The dogs were barking up the wrong tree (_"Haha,"_ Rose said drily), the one I'd been in first. As I leapt from tree to tree a lot faster than before, I felt like that epic heroine from the stories told about us Rangers. Then I ran into a tree trunk.

"_Nice one."_ Elizabeth commented.

But I was in no mood to joke around now that I was free of the Gallicans, who were shouting negative replies and doubtful questions to each other. _"Where's Gilan?"_

"_You know exactly where he is. All you have to do is break into the rebels' fortress and save him."_ Halt said.

"_Any idea on how to do that?"_

The Rangers in my head looked at each other and shrugged, slowly vanishing.


	35. Not EXACTLY the Dream Team

**I'm BACK!**

***IMPORTANT*: I might not update for two-three days. See profile if you're wondering why. *IMPORTANT***

_Snip. Snip. Snip._ The hair came off without any arguing or resisting. My fingers were shaking as I reached up and felt the new ends. They were spiky, not frayed like the split ends of my braids. I set the saxe knife down and closed my eyes.

"Are you alright?"

My eyelids fluttered open. "Yeah."

The old man shrugged. He'd found me that morning, when he'd come over to my tree and called up to say "if you want coffee, Ranger, you'd better come down". Apparently this guy was an old contact of Halt's. He ran a forgery business, and had helped Halt get into places on numerous occasions.

Once I told Horace and Kory that when I got back home, they'd never let Halt forget it. If I got back home…

One of the cats jumped up into my lap and decided I was a good place for a cat nap and a long bout of shedding. I convinced him otherwise.

"Well, girl, here's your seal." He said, handing me a little box. "Remember, you're a Courier."

"_That means act like Alyss!"_ Rosabel hissed.

I was pretending to be a guy Courier from Southern Gallica. They were looking for a girl escapee, not a member of nobility. Especially not a male member of nobility. And as Halt always says, you see—

Rosabel interrupted. _"What you expect to see. We know. Just get on with it."_

"Okay. Which way's the castle again?"

Jacque—apparently the name was Gallic, but I personally heard "Jack"—sighed. "You're never going to make it. I'll have to come with you." He said, picking up his cloak.

"What? No! I can't have you along, you're…" I trailed off suddenly.

"Old? I know, girl. Now, we're going to need a fake name for you."

"Adrian. It's best if I go by something I'll answer to."

"If you say so."

But before he could open the door, it flew open. A girl my age was there. She closed the door quickly and leaned against it, breathing heavily.

"Shannon!"

"Heya, Jacque." The new girl said, tossing him something in a small drawstring pouch. "Who's she?" She nodded in my direction.

I straightened, folded my arms, and frowned at her. "_I_ am not a _she_."

Shannon laughed, unconcerned by the denial. "I'm a friend." She said. "Another agent on an undercover mission, Jacque?"

"She went this way!" Someone yelled outside. I saw a mob of people wearing uniforms go running down the dirt road outside.

"SHANNON!" Jacque thundered.

"What?" She asked innocently, before glancing out the window and seeing a guard guy checking a chicken coop. "Ah, that!"

"Yes, that."

"Well, no time for this now, what's the mission? Never mind, I don't care—I'm in!"

I wanted to bang my head against the wall as the three cats came trotting into the room. It looked like I had my own little team to rescue Gil. And it wasn't exactly the one I'd had back in Araluen: three cats, an old man, and a girl who looked like she hadn't eaten in two years.

X-x-X-x-X

"So we're breaking into the castle to not only free three prisoners who may or may not be dead, but to stop this rebellion and bring peace between Gallica and Araluen?" Shannon asked.

"Yep."

"With you, the cats, me, and Jacque for an army."

"Yep."

"And have you got any ideas?"

"Yep."

Jacque spoke for the first time. We were crowded into a corner booth in an inn not too far from the castle. "What's the plan?"

I scooped Turtle, the tortoiseshell, up and scratched her under the chin. "Wing it." I said, grinning.

My voices cheered.

X-x-X-x-X

"Who are you?" The guard asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Eh?" I said, pretending to have been distracted by an important message from Jacque, who was playing the part of manservant. "Oh! I'm Adrian Boutin, the Courier. I expect to be able to talk to the General soon… Fitzroy was replaced with Lefevre, right?"

Lefevre was the guy who'd so kindly led the attack to capture and torture me and my friends.

I flashed the seal in the guard's face.

"Yeah. That looks in order. You're here for Lefevre?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Hurry up, will you?"

He turned on his companion. "Go on, tell Lefevre someone's here to see him."

With my hands shaking, I walked arrogantly into the castle grounds and up the stairs to the atrium. The cats and my "servants" followed.

Lefevre came in flanked by at least twelve men, the ones who'd done the actual torturing, and looked as harried as I was pretending to be.

"Anthony Bonnet, right?"

"Adrian Boutin."

"Whatever. What is it? And make it quick, I'm busy."

"It's not something I can discuss with other ears. It's from… someone…" I shot his group a meaningful look, "Down in Southern Gallica; he wants to join your efforts, but he has a few key demands."

"There's a side room for meetings just over here."

I left my "team" and his in the atrium, still trying not to freak out. Inside was a desk with a map and all those little battle planning doohickeys that represent parts of the army on parts of the map. I picked up one, a triangle (_"That's for archers—not like us, the bad ones—and the colour means it's three hundred." _Anne said helpfully), and examined it.

"So, what's this about, exactly?" He asked, pulling the door closed.

"It's about the captured Araluens. Are they dead yet?"

"No. We're still trying to get information out of them. None of them are talking, although the one with the glasses is rather pathetic."

George is annoying and bland and he never shuts up, but this jerk calling him pathetic made me snap. "Like you, then."

"Excuse me?"

I snapped out a high kick that caught him in the chest and knocked him to the floor. "Surprise! The name's Adrianne, the Ranger girl who escaped from under your nose. I think we're even when it comes to cracked ribs now, though." I added as I loomed over him and pulled out my saxe knife.

"What do you want?" Lefevre asked, panicked. "Money?"

"Where's my mentor? My friends? Our gear?"

"The dungeons. We decided that there were more escape risks than rescue risks and we thought you wouldn't be able to break in to save them."

I shoved three handkerchiefs into his mouth and glared right into his eyes.

"You thought wrong. Now, he's the deal. I'm a half-trained apprentice to a member of a fifty-strong Corps. If I can make my way into your cute little castle with an old man, a thief who's probably been caught more than she's gotten away with it, and three cats, just think what fifty-odd more of me can do. Then add in superior military based on a higher system of loyalty and unity. Knights, too. And one of my fellow apprentices has a thing for poisons. Just the fifty Rangers, their sixteen apprentices, and a few knights could gut this country and divide it into fiefs.

"DO YOU WANT TO ATTACK ARALUEN NOW?" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Um…"

He'd been convinced.

I got up, pulled the thin cord out of my cloak pocket, and tied him to the table. "I'd kill you, but that's not how Rangers operate."

And with that, I ghosted out of the room.

The guards were staring at me.

"_Improvise."_ Will suggested gravely.

"There's a girl in there! She broke in the window and attacked him, go help!"

They all rushed into the room, and I slammed the shut behind them. Shannon understood quickly and pushed a large table in front of the door. I wondered briefly how the heck she was strong enough to do that. She was so skinny and frail she made Elizabeth look chubby, and believe me when I say Elizabeth is tiny.

I glanced around the atrium and saw the staircase that led down. I tore off and heard my five companions follow.

The stairs were lit by torches, and I heard the dungeon guard shift as my shadow appeared. I paused and wondered what to do. My saxe knife wouldn't do much if I couldn't get close to him.

"_Use your team."_ Halt said quickly. _"They're your only resource."_

Three of my team were looking around for mice and the other two were staring at me, hoping for an order to follow.

I picked up Spice, Turtle's calico sister, and walked down the rest of the stairs. The guard had his sword out and was waiting.

"I—" I broke off and stared off over his shoulder.

When he turned, I threw Spice. She landed on his head and clawed her way onto the top. He swung his sword, trying to scare the cat off, but I was already at his elbow, disarming him. I rammed the pommel into his temple and watched him collapse.

Spice stood up and disentangled herself from his head, affronted.

Ebony, who had black-brown fur, sniffed the man and then recoiled. "Meow." She said disdainfully.

I was halfway down the next set of stairs when Shannon yelled, "No!"

Jacque's voice followed, a growl of indistinguishable words, and then she appeared at the top of the stairs, running down.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Where's Jacque?"

"He said to go save them, and he'd hold the guards off. There's like thirty there, he'll never make it."

"Shoot! Um, take the sword and go help him. I'll break them out and then we'll have two more fighters. Go!"

"Adrianne?" Gilan croaked.

Shannon took the sword and climbed the stairs two at a time.

"Gilan!" I yelled, running towards the voice. "Are you alright?"

He was standing in a small cell, pressed up to the bars. "Yeah, but they aren't."

George was holding Alyss close to his chest. I almost didn't recognise them. Alyss's hair was dark, wet and streaked with mud and the gunk on the walls down here and blood. Her dress was no longer white, though her skin was making up for that. George's eyes were dark and his face drawn.

"Stand back." I said quickly, picking up a heavy oak chair. Gilan moved back, standing between the couple and the door.

I swung the chair and caught the lock. It fell open as the chair shattered into splinters.

Gilan picked up one of the larger shards of wood as I kicked the door open.

"What's this I hear about thirty guards?"


	36. Oh, Just Politics

***IMPORTANT*: I might not update for two-three days. See profile if you're wondering why. *IMPORTANT***

_Dear Rosabel:_

_The letters aren't in the box. Check under the desk draw. The letters will be stuck to the bottom of it with wax. They probably are from Wayde, since I doubt that Skandian guy can read and write._

_Steal the coffee beans if you want to play Capture the Flag—and then pin it the ceiling, putting a ransom note on the coffee pot._

_No, I'm not dead, and there's not much going on. We've been a bit tied up with_...

I trailed off and looked around. Jacque was limping around muttering about morning people while George (yes, George—I think we'll be visiting the inn for the meal) made breakfast. Shannon was pulling splinters out of Gilan's hand. The cats were playing with a piece of string that Spice kept stealing.

…_politics._

_In fact, it's been quite boring around here too._

I grinned as I wrote that, remembering what had happened back in the castle. Armed with a saxe knife and a sharp piece of wood, Gilan and I had somehow managed to fight off ten guards and pick up two swords each. After that, there was no stopping us.

We'd put Fitzroy back in power and convinced everyone that war with Araluen was a bad idea. Mostly by showing them what we could do with a longbow and a quiver.

Now we were back at Jacque's place, waiting for things in the government to blow over before we caught our boat ride back to Araluen and recovering, slowly.

_Can't wait to be back._

_Love,_

_Adrianne_

_PS Tell Halt that Gilan sings Greybeard Halt every night._

"You're a complete dork, Gilan." Shannon said, throwing the chips of wood into the fire. "And Alyss, stop trying to sneak up on Gil. It's annoying." She added without turning around.

_PPS I think I've found someone who could make a great new apprentice._


	37. Vodka Fiasco

**I know that recently, my flowing-plot style has changed back to anecdotes that are loosely connected to future and past ones, like the first few chapters or so. Have patience, folks. And this is a tad different content wise. It all sprung from a sleepover where "Annabel" and I were playing an RA based game.**

"Rosabel! Wake up!" Someone yelled.

My head was pounding, and as my eyelids fluttered open in the relative darkness of the room as that someone threw open the shutters, washing me with sunlight.

"Ow, ouch, ow! Beth, closed the damned windows!"

"What is your problem?"

"I HAVE A HEADACHE!" Then I winced. "Shhhhh."

"Rose, are you hung over?"

I managed to mumble both quietly and clearly: "Ah, no."

"If you say so. Halt said he doesn't care if you've got the Sickness, we've got real work to do today, so come on."

"Neh, don' wanna."

"We're taking down the Strife today." Elizabeth said in a voice that told me I should remember the Strife…

"Refresh my memory on who that is?"

"The gang of murderous traitors who think King Duncan has lived out his usefulness? The ones we've been trying to prove guilty of conspiracy to commit treason for a month? The gang who might have introduced the Sickness to Araluen? The gang who captured Alyss and practically sold her to Keren?"

"Ah. Them."

"Just get up."

She was so hard to piss off anymore. Once upon a time, you disobeyed her and you got in trouble. Once upon a time, you could make her feel an emotion of any sort—earn praise, a rebuke, get anything more than an "Oh, alright" or a half-laugh. Of course, everything had changed. Adrianne was already a Ranger—Gilan had insisted after her epic success in Gallica—and had gotten stationed at Norgate alongside Kory, who was continuing his studies up there. I had indeed started drinking, since Will had started spending time with Gilan's new apprentice—Shannon, the oh-so-brilliant thief-turned-Ranger orphan—more than he spent with me.

I rolled out of bed and got dressed. To be honest, I was getting used to this whole "functioning with a hangover" thing. I just wanted to get a rise out of Beth for once.

Beth tossed a clean uniform at me and picked up my cloak to shake it out. Marissa had insisted on using my bedside table as a dirty hamper, so female garments and socks tumbled to the ground with my scattered weapons, boots, socks, and empty bottles that had most certainly not been filled with vodka.

"Coffee." She added, handing me a canteen. "And remember what I told you about gossiping."

I'd been ordered not to talk about her and Wayde breaking up, not even with Marissa, let alone why: how in addition to the somewhat-true official story that she'd grown tired of him being controlling, that she'd fallen in love with a guy who, five years ago, had been wrongly accused of, ah, _harassing_ Wayde's girlfriend at the time.

As I said, I'm not allowed to talk about it.

X-x-X-x-X

I raised my head to peer over the bush at the gang members talking to Gilan. Shannon's hand tightened on my arm and yanked me down. "Are you insane? If they see us, they'll kill your uncle."

"Sh." Marissa said, glaring at us as she fingered her bowstring nervously.

I grumbled, "You shhhhhhhhh!" I drew out the syllable somewhat loudly, earning a pebble thrown at me by Beth.

Whirling on the smaller dark-haired girl, I found her poking out from behind a nearby rock. She met my eyes and shook her head, just the once. _Don't_, the look said, _just don't_.

I, even in my current inebriated state, wouldn't sabotage a mission and put Gilan in mortal danger just to piss off Bess.

But I would drink on a boring mission, so I finished the last dregs of the vodka spiked black coffee. And then hiccoughed.

"What was that?" One of the men said, cutting off Gilan mid-sentence.

Oops.

Marissa and Shannon scrambled backwards (Shannon stole my cloak and weapons and I was left to handle myself in the bushes when two came to check.

"Emily!" Gilan said quickly. "I'm sorry; she's my kid sister, gets drunk and follows me around before blacking out. Luckily she won't remember much, and what she does remember will be easily explained away."

"I don't know." The leader said suspiciously as I tilted my head to counteract the forest's spinning.

"She's a drunk, no one will believe her if she does remember."

"Who're you callin' a drunk?" I slurred, before pretending to finally notice the others. "Vodka coffee?" I asked, offering him the canteen.

One of the cronies caught sight of my tunic. "She dresses more like a boy... She could be one of them Ranger girls, like!"

"A drunken Ranger?" Was all the leader said, believing Gilan.

My eyes slid closed and I pretended to snore, snuggling up to the boot of one of the men.

"She's definitely drunk." One said.

I actually fell asleep then, and when I woke up, everyone was rather angry with me.

**I'm ba-ack! Missed me?**

**Please read "If You Can't Beat 'Em", my under-reviewed modern AU retelling of this story starring our dear friends Rosabel and co, while I type up the next few chapters of this one? Much appreciated. So, off to write a Halt lecture. REVIEW.**


	38. Sobriety Sucks Too

**By the way, I'm being mean again. In case you can't tell, I'm happy. In short, if life sucks for my characters I'm in a very good mood. If it's going well, I'm in the dumps.**

**But that's all, as I'm sure you're all very excited Rose is back and a bit miffed that I finally update with a very grumpy Rosabel in a sticky situation, and hence don't really want to hear about my personal life. Here's your update.**

"How could you have been so stupid?" Halt demanded when he saw my eyes blink open.

I winced, hearing it echo loudly through my aching skull.

"She's hung over, you're speaking too loudly." Will said.

I nodded, eyes wide. "Mmhm."

"What's that?" Halt asked loudly, right by my ear. "Speak up!"

"Gilan explained it away, didn't he? Why are you harassing me?"

"Because one decided to check the woods and we had to storm them. Now we haven't got the proof we were trying to get with the sting, and they've all got lawyers now who are saying that we were framing their clients. You're very lucky no one was hurt! Thanks to Shannon, really, she distracted them. If someone had gotten killed, I'd have your oak leaf right now. As it is, Crowley has put you on official probation."

My eyes filled with tears—it was a sad-hangover this time—and even Halt looked a bit scared. "I'm sorry!" I said, sniffling.

Will glared at his former mentor, but it wasn't until Beth gave him a death stare that Halt rushed to console me.

"Don't do that! It's just probation. You just have to stop drinking."

I nodded, tears dripping down my face. Marissa, Elizabeth, Gilan, and Will glared at Halt, who backed out of the room with the others.

Will stroked my hair and offered me coffee with just the right amount of honey.

X-x-X-x-X

Unfortunately, I was sober and extremely bitter (the reason I'd begun drinking in the first place) by that Sunday. Just in time for the wedding.

George and Alyss. Oh, happy day, lots of loving couples and my boyfriend, _mine_, was spending his time with tiny-waisted, razor-witted, copper-haired Shannon.

"What are you wearing?" Marissa asked, spinning around in a pretty, light purple dress. "I'm torn between the lilac and the lavender."

I sighed. "Ee-ne-me-ne-mi-ne-mo, catch a Ranger by the toe, if he hollers let him go, my mother says to pick whichever the hell you like."

"Very funny." She said.

"I know, I'm a riot."

She looked at me for a moment, then started digging in her trunk. She'd had her dresses from our manor house send over, hence every imaginary shade of purple and green.

"Aha."

She shook out a grey velvet gown. "It was Mother's. She gave it to me when you swore against dresses, but I'm a bit too short and grey really isn't my colour."

I took it. "Thanks." I said, before going to get ready.

X-x-X-x-X

I was standing at the edge of the room after the wedding was over, at the reception, when Will approached.

"You look amazing." Will told me, eyes trailing along the neckline, which ended right at the bottom edge of my clavicle.

I glanced down. "What…"

"I, um, talked to Marissa…" He said, and fished in his pockets. He pulled out a little wooden box with hinges and presented in to me. "She said your dress was really plain, and, well."

I opened the box and found a silver chain with lots of dangling gems, one that fell perfectly with the dress.

"Thank you." I managed, taking a sip from the wine so he wouldn't see me blink back tears.

"Here," He said, carefully putting it around my neck and fastening it. "Now smile." Will added, tilting my chin up with a single finger.

"Do you, um, want to dance?"

"I promised to show Shannon how to dance, apparently Halt doesn't give lessons. And Cassandra's in a mood right now, so stealing her husband to give another girl dancing lessons sounds like a bad idea."

_Oh, but it doesn't matter if _your_ girlfriend is in a terrible mood?_

But I don't say that. My lips move, smiling, and say, "Alright, just don't trip the poor girl."

He thanks me and hurries off to find _Shannon_. I mean, there's nothing special about the girl. She's just an orphan like Will, and that's all he sees: himself. She was quite plain, really, with her freckles and pale skin. And hair like the sun, eyes like ocean, and the same sort of sarcastic charm Will had.

Dammit.

My utter hatred of the girl must've showed on my face as I watched Will laugh at something she was saying and Beth walked up to me.

"You don't have to resent her so much, really."

"I used to make him smile like that."

"Before you got so selfish and started drinking." She replied coolly.

I glared daggers. "You have no idea what it's like to lose so much."

She slapped me. "The drinking, the recklessness, the provoking, the _grumbling_—that, I can take. But don't you dare act like you're the only person with problems." She hissed.

Something inside me snapped and pretty soon I had my hands wrapped around her throat. She dug her fingers into my wrists, loosening my grip and pinning me to the wall. I freed myself and swung at her. She ducked, but had no time to dodge the next blow and with my vision going red, I had her pinned now.

"ROSABEL STALON." Halt thundered.

He and Will dragged me and Beth apart, each of them grabbing the upper arms of their own apprentice.

Beth's eye was slowly swelling up as I scowled.

"Apologise, both of you." He said.

"Sorry." Elizabeth mumbled. "I was out of line."

I folded my arms.

"Rosabel," Will said, but I ignored him completely, meeting Halt's eyes angrily.

"Apologise, or give me your oak leaf."

I pulled the oak leaf out of my bodice and yanked it off its chain. "Take it." I said, dropping it.

"You do realise this is it? You're out of the Corps?"

I nodded. "I hate it. All of it. All of _you_."

**Now be honest, did you see **_**that**_** coming?**

**Review, or I change the ending. And if I change the ending, you're **_**really**_** not going to like the sequel—it'll go from "Rosabel, Will, and the others are still kick serious butt, even with all their kids running about" to "a disgraced Rosabel makes a very, very bad enemy for Araluen". Yes, it's ending pretty soon. But don't worry, because there's **_**If You Can't Beat 'Em **_**and an eventual sequel.**


	39. Unexpected

**Heya, I've got your chapter here, in Will's POV. (Requested by RAfan2421, who's like my only reader right now! Thanks for the reviews!) **

**There has been some dissent by Da' Book Worm about my styling of the characters and my calling Will **_**Choco**_** instead of **_**Chocho**_**. **_**Choco**_** was the way they spelled/pronounced it for the mission, so it'd sound less foreign. I totally missed the repeat of Gil and Missy in the wedding, my apologies. Rosabel is unusual for her time period, but let's face it, a girl in the military is unusual for the time period—she's also seventeen and a half when she becomes an apprentice, since she had to petition from the usual apprentice age just to become a probationary apprentice, and besides, my stepmother and dad are thirteen years and one month apart. Halt has, like with Gilan, known her since her childhood; if you think Gilan wasn't disrespectful to Halt on occasion, might I suggest Dodo.123's fanfictions? (Though I admit, when it comes to style, inspiration, and IC-ness, I can't hold a candle to her genius). Halt was totally growing soft and Will was getting tough and bitter by the end of the ninth book. And a little-known secret… I hated **_**writing**_** the end of chapter five, let alone rereading it.**

"Where will she go?" Carmen asked in a whisper as I discreetly climbed up into the rafters—a gap in the masonry here, a candle sconce there, and a ledge of the baseboard reinforced to keep out rats—for what may well have been the last time in the next year. I had been assigned to this mission where I bounced around taking care of possible threats, including a certain small-time criminal by the name of Alda.

Alyss, who was sitting next to Cassandra and Horace, sighed. "Halt gave her a letter to show to his nephew if she chooses to start over in Hibernia. There's a monastery and of course, posts as body guard to the King."

Monastery. I flinched, unable to help myself. Rosabel taking a vow would mean there was no going back. Ever.

"Has anybody seen Will?" Horace asked.

Beth's eyes flickered up to me. "He went to get some fresh air before he says goodbye," She said calmly, speaking for the first time in a while.

"I'm going to go find him." Horace resolved. "Alyss, George?"

Alyss stood up with her new husband and faked a smile. I knew this wasn't how she intended the honeymoon stage of her marriage to go, but there was no way she'd leave her friends when we were so shaken up.

"I'm coming." Cassandra said firmly. "It won't hurt the baby any for me to go for a walk," She added as Horace began to argue.

Carmen stood too and helped the Princess stand automatically. "My mum was a midwife." She explained.

The room cleared out. Beth was left, sitting at the table. When everyone was gone, she started speaking without looking up or moving. "Every step of the way she's had to fight for any semblance of normal, and that's catching up to her now. While we got used to you and Alyss being back together and finally got to breathe long enough to grieve for Annabel, she was pushing herself to her limit trying to be well enough to come back.

"And then, when things settled down for once, Shannon shows up and suddenly you're the girl _how to dance_ while your actual girlfriend—who was supposed to be sobering up, mind you—drank wine and got in a fight.

"If you get back and she's still in Hibernia, for God's sake, go after her. If she isn't back in a year, I will drag you to Hibernia myself. Understood?"

"Will," Halt said gruffly. I wasn't sure how much he'd heard, but I climbed down carefully. "Time to go. Some carrier pigeons have been set up here, so we can communicate."

I wondered vaguely what she was up to now, a week later. Had she done something stupid, or was she lying low?

Who was I kidding? I wondered what trouble she was knee deep in.

X-x-X-x-X

I wasn't quite sure where I was, beyond "in some dank hell hole on a tiny island between Araluen and Hibernia where I've been captured by bandits who demand taxes from anyone passing by in a ship". There was a cell, and my head pounded.

Someone pulled the burlap bag from over my head. Three armed men were waiting by the door, one was standing behind me, and someone draped in furs carrying the embellished sword of some noble idiot who had no idea how to use it was standing on the other end of a grimy table. Someone had managed to make this _three-legged stool _squeak.

The furry person, who probably thought a lot of himself based on the haughty upward tilt of his head, appraised me. George's fireside lectures on syko-something-or-another had taught me a lot, apparently.

"My name is Alador."

"Alice." I lied smoothly. "I've no money, you've sunken the only thing of monetary value I had with me, so if you don't mind I think I'll just…"

I tried to stand, but a hand rested on my shoulder, pushing me back down.

"You haven't even heard my offer yet." He said. Hot, stinky fish-breath fanned out against my cheek. I forced myself to breathe anyway; I needed air to my muscles for my next movement.

I broke—no, _shattered_—the creep's nose with the heel of my hand, grabbed the wrist attached to the hand on my shoulder, and brought the side of my hand down on his forearm. The sickening snap and his scream didn't even stop me as I stepped over them and one the remaining three fled.

The second was lucky. I took the sword from _Aladdin _or whatever the hell his name was, parried his attack, swung with the practice MacNeil taught me so many years before, and then there was just me and the other guy, who appeared to be seventeen or so. I wanted to finish it, kill him and get out of here and head to Hibernia.

But his eyes were ice blue and his messy hair was blonde, just like Annabel and my father. I closed my eyes and swore. When I opened them, he was still watching me with terror in his eyes.

"Where's the exit?" I said.

"You're—you're not going to kill me?"

"You look like my father." I admitted quietly.

"What happened to him?"

I grinned. "I killed him myself. With my bare hands. Enough questions. Where is the exit?"

He pointed at the door, but not to the exit. To the twenty assembled guards and the obvious leader, a woman clad in studded leather. Well, dammit times a thousand.

"Well, haven't we got a fighter." She commented. I was immediately surrounded, at a simple surreptitious signal from her.

I may be pretty dumb at times, but I was smart enough to drop the sword and kick it away.

"Yup. My cousin Dylan taught me how."

The lies were just rolling off my tongue.

"Tell you what, I'll pretend you're not lying and you'll join us instead of me calling your bluff and suggesting that you're one of those archer spy girls from Araluen, and of course ransoming you."

I paused. I knew my ransom would come through, but I didn't want to owe everyone back home when I so desperately needed to flee my troubles. And after all, I was going to be a bodyguard to some foreign king anyway, how much difference did it make for a disgraced Ranger girl who hired her to play soldier?

_All the difference in the world_, I knew Halt would say. If I took this offer, I would never go back to Araluen, to my surrogate family and last blood relative, to Will. If I didn't, I had a slim chance of escaping from wherever they kept prisoners.

"You know, even us spies have an honour code rule book thingamajig. I dunno what it says, never actually read the dang thing, but I'm pretty sure "not working for low-life criminals" is in there somewhere. I appreciate the offer, though.

"Put her with the other one." She said firmly, leaving.

With a sigh I subjected to being dragged to the even colder basement dungeons. To my utter surprise, however, the "other one" was Celina.

Trust me and my arch enemy to end up in adjoining cells in the middle of nowhere while I was freezing cold.

"We meet again," Celina said coolly, too tightly huddled in the corner to do much but blink at me with frost-covered lashes and quip sarcastic clichés. "I figured I'd see you in hell, Rose, I just didn't think it'd be so damned cold."

I shrugged. "Cold day in hell when we're both arrested, I suppose. How are the hands?"

She demonstrated by making a rude gesture, but I could see frost bite setting in on the extremities.

The guards left, uninterested by the dialogue, and I turned my attention to the lock.

"You just love this, don't you? The _glory_ of being in danger and barely escaping over and over?"

I shrugged. "It has its upsides."

"It's all going to catch up to you." She said.

"I'm not worried." I said. "I'll be waiting with my bow."

"You're playing a dangerous game." Celina said.

I smiled coldly. "I know, my old _friend_." The lock finally opened under my numb fingers. My sigh of relief fanned out in front of me.

"Congratulations."

As I started to make a snippy comeback, I realised I couldn't leave her here. "I hate you. And what I'm about to do will change absolutely nothing. Let's just acknowledge that and move on."

"Come again?"

I picked up a loose nail and pried off the rusted hinges. She looked at me with doubt in her eyes as I kicked down the door to her cell. "Come on."

"You're an idiot."

"You're telling me?" I asked. "One, I think I know. Two, I'm saving your butt here, so I wouldn't be insulting me if I were you." I added, offering her my hand and half expecting her to try something.

She pulled herself up and looked at me for a long time. Then she took the hand and climbed to her feet. I grabbed my gear and found the blanket, tossing it to her as I donned the mottled cloak.

"This changes a considerable amount more than nothing." She commented.

I groaned. "You pick the worst times to be noble."

"I kept thinking, how you and Will were so attracted to each other, that we aren't so different. That maybe if things had been different, we would've been friends."

"Like if you weren't a psychotic, vengeful bitch who got my best friend killed and I wasn't a self-absorbed childhood prankster who got your boyfriend executed?"

"Right. Who are we kidding, we never could have been anything but enemies."

We made it to the ground floor and crept down the hallway, still no guards.

"Why are you here?"

"I quit the Corps because Will was fawning over an eighteen year old beauty and Beth was being stubbornly nice. Where'd you go after the war?"

"I fled long before the final battle. Harrison never caught up, so I moved on. You quit the Ranger Corps, your lifetime dream job, because you hit a couple snags?"

"You're not one to judge."

Celina shrugged.

Wow. I was officially breaking out of a frozen prison with my lifetime arch enemy while discussing politely how on earth we ended up so badly. And, I reflected as a crossbow bolt cut through the air I'd been occupying a split second before Celina yanked me out of the way, we were saving each other's lives.

**La dee f'n da. Review?**


	40. Guess Who? No, Seriously, Guess

"I ought to thank you for breaking me out." Celina told me, a bit gruffly and definitely reluctant. "I think. It's horrible living without Harrison. But I think you know that. Why'd you leave Will, anyway? Needed the drama? Ran out of pranks?"

"He was more interested in another girl." I replied stiffly, _really_ not wanting to talk about this, though I admit this was preferable to the uncomfortable silence; we'd snuck out (relatively) unnoticed-anyone who knew was taking a very long nap-and were currently sailing through still waters, heading for the hazy glimmer of a lighthouse, with an awkward tension in the air.

"Did he tell you that?"

"I could tell."

Celina rolled her eyes. "You Rangers think you're so smart. You especially—ugh. Look, has it ever occurred to you that you could just ask him straight out for once instead over-thinking everything?"

It hadn't occurred to me. I blinked. "Shut up." I said eventually, fiddling with a tiller. Or miller. Or rudder. I don't know, sailing isn't covered in Ranger training.

"Go back and tell him!"

I frowned. "It's not that easy!"

"You're an idiot. I knew that, of course—putting explosives in a fire?—but really! Why not?"

"He probably hates me now; I did walk out on him."

"Then make it up to him."

"How?"

"I don't know, you're the supposed genius."

I sighed and set about figuring out how to prove myself as a girlfriend, as a friend, as a comrade, as a Ranger… And whether or not he loved Shannon, or even wanted me back.

X-x-X-x-X

"How could Rosabel possibly think I loved Shannon?" I mused aloud as I rode along on Tug. "All I want is her."

Tug whinned, as if to say, _You should've told her that!_

This was supposed to be a two month mission; it'd been almost a year. Okay, so, I'd visited home once or twice. Cassandra had a beautiful baby girl named Evelyn, and Marissa and Gilan had made it official. Evelyn had everyone as tightly wrapped around her finger as her blonde ringlets. Gil and Missy, well, I was happy for them but looking at them made me get a tight feeling in the back of my throat.

"Really, Will, a whole year and you're still not over her but still haven't gone after her?" Alyss said one night as Cassie and Missy fussed over Evy.

"Don't worry, Alyss, I'll drag him to Hibernia in a week." Beth had reassured her cheerfully.

"Two weeks." Cassandra corrected. "You are not missing Evy's first Christmas."

Will hastened to assure her that he wouldn't miss it for the world, he just had one last thing to do before the holiday…

It had started three months ago while he tracked down criminal number thirty seven. He'd heard word at a bar here or there that some small-time vigilante was dropping off tied up criminals with evidence against them at the doorsteps of village elders, but it wasn't until that September that he came into contact with him at all.

It was your average chase, really. The guy was halfway through the window of a wealthy family's manor when I caught him, and the guy ran. He had a 200 metre head start, and the woods weren't far away. Even as I urged Tug to a gallop, the man ran into the forest. Tug whinnied; the forest was too thick for him to enter.

I dismounted and sprinted after the man. He slowed to a stop as he noted the lack of someone crashing through undergrowth. Even the birds and squirrels were silent. A flock of sparrows came full speed out of a thick patch of wayward pine trees. I headed that way, wondering if maybe he was trying to hide in their ladder-like branches.

"Who—who are you?" A male voice full of terror asked.

The soft murmur of a voice, words too low to make out, responded with what I presumed was an answer.

"What do you wa—want with me?"

There was a pause, then a whimper and further quiet talking. I had my bow ready, an arrow notched.

"I-I-I promise!"

"Good." The voice responded, the syllable too curt for me to tell anything about the speaker.

I stepped out of the trees, only to find my perpetrator staring wildly around the empty space. When the man saw me, he immediately began insisting he wanted to confess.

And so it went; I would arrive at the next area where a dangerous criminal was hiding out, only to find him (or her) trussed up and either screaming they'd confess or gagged with a bag of evidence and a list of witnesses.

It was immensely frustrating, but more so when I realised—not long after I left Seacliff to go to Macindaw—the only way this vigilante could've known the criminals I'd be looking for next was if he'd seen the list I kept in my camp.

I laid awake the first night after this epiphany. Not because I was afraid, but because I'd made a show of receiving the letter from home—it was from Halt, telling me Beth had passed her practical assessment—and jotted down information on my list as if it were actually about more criminals. I made up random names based on old case files I'd read in order to draw up tests for Beth. It's incredibly hard to find realistic situations she hasn't actually been in.

One hour… Two hours… Three… Four… I felt my eyelids grow heavy and fought it, listening closely. Another hour passed.

I heard a crackling on my left side, waited, and then rolled over with a sleepy mumble. My eyes were like slits as I studied the landscape. It was odd that he'd made a sound out here, I reflected. It was mostly lush grass that made little sound when it was stepped on, but he'd made it out of a pine forest—in the winter, with a heavy coating of leaves on the ground—without even a tiny twig creaking.

Something was off. And then it hit me: he'd meant for me to hear a sound on that side.

I bolted out of my bedroll and sure enough, there was a figure cloaked in dark grey crouching not three feet away on my right side. I grabbed my bow, except it wasn't there: in its place was a stick. When I'd rolled over I'd left my grip on it for a moment, and he'd moved it away a good five feet.

He was already running, and I heard a soft whinny as he got onto a horse that was ready and waiting. Damn.

And now here I was, two days later, still on his trail and growing closer. We were growing closer and closer to Seacliff, and the thick, bare maple forests became more and more dotted with evergreens.

I could actually see him now, through the trees; he must've ditched the horse somewhere, because he was on foot. He was practically flitting through the forest, moving from tree to tree.

"Stop, King's Ranger!" I called. I knew he wouldn't stop, but the court case if I hadn't announced myself would've been disastrous. "Damn," I muttered, and then did something I never would've done if it weren't for George's constant babble since he married Alyss and spent a lot of time at the cabin. "Please!" I added.

The cloak figure froze as if caught off guard, and my bow came up. He dove behind a tree. I was about to step sideways and shoot him in the arm, slow him down, and then a hand stuck out. Before I fully registered what was going on, a knife came hurtling at me. I was confident enough that only a handful of people could hit me blindly, and I happened to be sharing a cabin with most of them; so instead of moving, I stayed stock still as the trajectory became obvious: it'd miss me by several centimetres.

A quiet twang I hadn't been expecting pulled me out of the statue impression I was doing: the knife had missed me, my bow, and my cloak, but not my bowstring.

"_What if your bowstring's broken?" _Gilan's voice echoed.

"_Run and hide."_

But I couldn't. I couldn't let this vigilante get away, especially not one good enough to sever my bowstring without looking at the knife he was throwing. As I looked down at the weapon, the dark figure tried to slip away in a crouch, to minimise targets for my knives.

I threw my own knife, but either by wicked fast reflexes—the kind most, even warriors, didn't have enough training for—or sheer dumb luck, he tightened into a ball and rolled away. A gasp of pain told me he'd been punished by the sharp debris on the ground, or maybe the pummel of the weapons: there was a glint of a sword hilt at the man's waist.

Even as I went for the saxe, I found him crouched and ready to move at a moment's notice. I knew he was right-handed from where the sword hung, but he'd just rolled to his left, so it was hard to tell which way he'd move and to be honest, I would prefer not to kill him.

He paused and drew his sword. I tensed, but to my surprise he threw it to the side and showed me his only other weapon, a knife not unlike my saxe knife, except with a hilt wound in soft brown leather.

"Or you drop all your weapons and we talk about how you came to know how to fight like that."

A gesture to his sword and then my pitiful last weapon—Halt would have a field day with this story—told me he knew he had a pretty good advantage.

"I've been training for the last seven years with the Corps." I warned him. Despite my adversities toward him, I couldn't help but feel a little impressed and greatly relieved we appeared to be on the same side. "How long have you been handling that knife?"

With a shrug, he held up five fingers—he wore leather gloves, but they had no covering for the tips, something that would give him better grip; there was a leather cuff on his arm that said he also had a bow, probably with his horse—and wiggled them theatrically. Judging by the size of his hands, lack of dark hair on the fingers or wrinkles, and the amount of calluses, the mystery vigilante was a young man with light hair.

"You're a quiet one."

All I got was another infuriating shrug.

"You know, I once fought this man who—" I'd begun with the first thing that came to mind, and then midway through the sentence flicked the knife at him. But all I heard was a quiet chuckle that was quickly cut off as he threw himself sideways.

He threw the knife, seemingly half-hearted, and tried to make a run for it as it distracted me. I darted forward and caught him 'round the stomach.

The wind must've been knocked out of him, but his muscles clenched as he laid winded on the earth, and that'd be all the warning I would get before he twisted himself sharply, coming out on top, roles reversed as he pinned me down.

"I don't want to hurt you, Will Treaty, so don't make me." He hissed; his voice was higher than your average adult, so he was probably a couple years younger than me.

I surged upwards and knocked him back, putting myself back in control.

"Who are you? What are you? Where'd you train? Did a man named Harrison teach you?"

"Oh, here and there. Harrison, can't say I had a teacher by that name. As to my identity, I believe the term is vigilante." Came the murmured response; I wanted to flick back the cowl of the dark wool riding cloak, but I couldn't loosen my grip on his arms.

"Why are you tracking down _my_ criminals?"

I could tell by the next snarling response that he rolled his eyes. "If you'd allow the circulation to return to my hands, I'd tell you."

"Not until you answer my questions."

A long pause while I waited for him to speak, then, "You know, Will, I thought you'd recognise me." He said in a clearer voice. No, _she_ said in a clearer voice. A familiar voice, to be exact. I realised my mistake. It wasn't a young man, it was a girl. A girl with a Ranger's knowledge, but gone rogue, who had hands of considerable larger size than any other girl I knew, despite being small in stature; in fact, her hands were bigger than Halt's, something that had irked the grizzled Ranger to no end.

"Rosabel. It's you."

I stared into the shadows of the cowl, and she sighed. "Yes, it's me. Now, if you don't mind, Will, my arms are going numb."

"Oh my God, Rosabel, you're _back_."

"Yes, yes, now get off me!"

I moved away, still in shock, and she sat up to rub her arms. The hood fell backwards. It was Rosabel, all right, and she was grinning nervously at me. "So… I'm back…"

Rosabel was _back_.


	41. Back to December

The silence stretched on and I wrestled with my uncertainties. "You're an idiot." I joked, trying to ease the tension.

"I'm not the one who almost got killed because I refused to show my identity."

"I couldn't imagine you being too pleased to see me, and this is just confirmation."

"Confirm—confirmation?" He said, sounding strangled.

"So… you _aren't_ happy I'm back?"

"Happy? Frankly, I'm furious. And _happy_? _Happy_ doesn't begin to cover it. I'm… elated."

I grinned hesitantly.

"Don't you grin at me." Will glared. "I'm mostly happy because now I'm not being dragged to Hibernia by my apprentice."

"Well, I never actually made it to Hibernia. I was halfway there, and then there were sea bandits, and then Celina convinced me to turn back, and I asked casually what news there was of Rangers when I returned and found that a certain Ranger Will Treaty had been making visits to towns and nabbing criminals, but then it kept dragging on and I figured I could help you out."

"Bandits—Celina—oh, never mind! How did you track me?"

"Let me see, a young Ranger with a border collie riding all over Araluen and staying in inns, how on earth could I miss that?"

"I wasn't there as a Ranger most of the time."

"Well, when I heard talk of an amazing jongleur I inquired after him instead."

"There are lots of jongleurs."

"Wearing mottled cloaks and riding about with a dog and a shaggy pony? Please! I just drummed my fingers on my bow and said it was a matter of national security that I find you, and everyone started talking."

"So you, what, intend to be a vigilante?"

I looked out into the forest; I'd never actually considered that. It'd be nice, riding around making a difference without all the rules and regulations: just me, my weapons, Belladonna, and the fresh air. But vigilantes and Rangers couldn't be friends, or fall in love, or get married. They'd have to just turn a blind eye or drive me out.

"No. I intend to make things right. I intend to apologise to Beth, to Halt, and to you and take my re-entrance exam… If you'll have me, that is."

"And if we won't have you?"

I shrugged. "I can't leave Araluen again. I belong here, whether I have what I want from here or not."

Will's eyes searched mine, as if checking for any trace of a lie. I met his brown eyes and wondered how I live without them for a whole year. "Are we going to talk about last December?" He asked finally.

"Yes. I shouldn't have left, I was acting a child. I've completely given up drinking—well, alcohol. I don't think I could survive without coffee. I was out of control. I could've gotten us killed, might've even killed Beth myself."

"Beth says you were angry about me and Shannon?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter, I don't—"

"Rosabel Marie Stalon, it _does_ matter, I know it does. To you and to me. I don't love her like that—she's like a little sister. You guys are family. And you, well, you're more…"

"I always figured that… if, well, if I'd stayed… I _would_ have been family. Like, officially."

He laughed suddenly and dug around in inner pockets. I watched carefully as he pulled out a little cloth bag. Inside was a ring that matched the necklace he'd given me at Alyss's wedding. "You have no idea."

I stared at the silver band. "Will…"

"Rose, listen, I get it if you've moved on. I just want you to know I haven't."

"This isn't me here to get you back."

"Oh." Will said, and I realised I'd phrased that terribly.

"This is me swallowing my pride, standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night, and I go back to that day all the time. It turns out freedom isn't anything but missing you and wishing I'd realized what I'd had when you were mine. Please forgive me?"

"I've forgiven you. Of course, I'm not who you should be worried about…"

I winced at the thought of everyone's reactions to my return. He grinned, and helped me climb to my feet.

He started to gather our scattered weapons. "You know, I'm going to need to hear all about what happened while you were gone, but I'll let you save that story for when you can just tell everyone. But I do have one question…"

"Oh?"

"Why'd you cut your hair?"

X-x-X-x-X

I glanced over at Will as we rode over the rise overlooking STF. This is where I'd first seen it so many years before—four years, if I wasn't mistaken. I'd been seventeen and a half, and I'd been twenty one for several months now.

"I missed your birthday." I commented. "Twenty three—you're practically ancient." I grinned.

"Just wait, you'll be there in two years. And then thirty, and then forty, and fifty…"

I shuddered and he grinned and gestured that I go ahead. "So, ladies first."

But I had no intention of getting shot by Beth halfway down the hill. "Age before beauty." I replied.

"I should warn you, we're leaving for Christmas at Castle Araluen tomorrow and little Evelyn is going to be asking all sorts of questions."

"Evelyn… Oh! Cassandra had a girl?"

"Horace was beside himself. 'But, but, the midwives swore it'd be a boy! What do we do with the child's weapons everyone got her?'"

"Give them to her!" I said, laughing. "We'll make a Ranger out of a Princess yet."

"Or a knight."

We both laughed. A girl knight? That'd be funny to see…

**Ah, foreshadow. ;) Now, will everyone stop nagging me about getting Wisabel back on track? I even threw Celina into last chapter and made the reunion dramatic!**

**And the little "this is me swallowing my pride" speech is all Taylor Swift. There's a virtual cupcake for everyone who recognised that.**

**Short chapter, but I'm tired and I like to end with foreshadow. Plus, last chapter was like 2000 words. REVIEW! Or I track you down and message you like poor Animevampfreak10.**


	42. Rosabel Returns

With a deep, steadying breath, I pushed open the front dor and to my surprise, the entirety of the cabin's occupants was still awake and seated around the room.

"Ah." I said, uncertainly. "I'm back?"

Marissa's eyes widened and her hands flew to her mouth—I noticed the glint of a gold engagement ring; I was going to lecture Will about not telling me this. "Rose!"

Adrianne lunged, only to be caught by Beth. "Let-me-_go_! I'm going to _kill_ her." She yelled, struggling.

"Calm down." Gilan tried.

"You're not my mentor anymore!" Adrianne snarled as she tried to shake Beth off.

"It's really you!" Vanessa squealed. "You're back! With Will! Crowley, please-oh-please can she come back?"

"If she is suitably vouched for in regards to her sobriety and can pass the re-entrance exam, I don't see why not." The Commandant admitted slowly, glancing at Will's figure behind me in the doorway.

"_So_." Halt said, arms folded. "You're finally back?"

"Yes." I said, as I was hugged around the waist by Vanessa and Missy. "I want to suitably apologise for that whole mess last December, as soon as the breath stops being squeezed out of me, anyway."

They took the hint and stepped back. Adrianne and Elizabeth stopped arguing. I was once again met by a room of silent stares.

"I was acting like a child when I stormed out. And for a while before that, to be quite honest. I can understand if you can't trust me—especially you, Gilan and Beth, since I nearly killed both of you—but I miss you all so much and I want to make up for this as best I can. Alyss, George, I'm sorry I almost ruined your wedding reception and probably your honeymoon. And that I missed Evelyn being born. And, apparently, my uncle and best friend getting engaged—which _someone_ forgot to mention to me."

"I'm sorry, I was too busy fighting you to remember." Will said rather sardonically.

"Fighting?" Adrianne asked curiously, glancing at my now bruised arms.

"She's the vigilante." Halt said, as though it were obvious. "The lists of witnesses were in her handwriting, the neater script she uses for formal things. Like the petition to join the Corps in the first place."

"Even I didn't catch that." Pauline admitted.

Beth looked pretty surprised too.

"She never used pretty script for me." Marissa commented.

Gilan agreed.

Halt shrugged, clearly not wanting to seem to know me better than even Will or Gilan or Marissa. "She is my apprentice."

"Is? I mean, I thought you retired…"

"I—"

Beth grinned evilly. "He stayed in and waited for you." She said, much to Halt's chagrin.

"I just thought it wiser to wait for you, seeing as the Corps losing two of its best—or rather, one mediocre and one excellent—Rangers would leave it at a severe disadvantage."

"Thank you." I mouthed.

He inclined his head ever-so-slightly.

"Okay, I want to hear the story now." Anne said, sitting down.

"There's not much to tell." I lied.

"You set off on your own for a year and you expect us to believe there's not much to tell?" Carmen said, with a derisive snort to rival Horace. "Out with it."

"Yeah, how'd you end up a vigilante?" Kory asked, settling back down with an indignant Adrianne.

Adrianne sighed. "Okay, tell us the story or I swear I'll use you as a target for shooting practice. Even then…" She mused, as if actually considering killing me after I finished my tale.

I winced at the thought—Adrianne was a brilliant archer, and I had no intention of being a pincushion (_especially now,_ I considered as I twisted the beautiful silver ring on my left hand)—and began with boarding the small fishing boat to Hibernia.

"It was called _The Red Herring_, if I'm not mistaken. I don't remember; I was only on a week, and I spent most of that time sick. I loved the feel of the swaying deck, like the upper branches of a tree in the wind, but the smell of fish and their blood was enough to turn Skandians to using their helmets as buckets," I glanced up at Halt here, earning myself a Don't-Make-Me-Put-You-In-A-Tree-For-The-Night Halt Death Glare™, "Anyway, as I said, I was only on for a week.

"Then we passed this rocky island with a odd little house built on it, and some of the crew members grew nervous. I couldn't hear what they whispered to the captain, but then there was a huge ship sailing out of a natural harbour and then there were boarding planks. I'd put my bow in my hammock, unfortunately. I was knocked out pretty quickly, and when I woke up I was in a room with four armed guards and some slimy git named Alador who…"

Everyone listened in awe, Marissa gasping when I revealed who was in the next cell over and Gilan's jaw dropping when I mentioned how Celina saved me from the crossbow bolt and Beth muttering about the irony that she convinced me to come back. "We reached this midway island, anyway, and I caught a much safer ship back while Celina went, with the letter Halt wrote for me and one I'd written for him, to King Sean asking him to find some household position for Celia and to remove those bandits on the island before they robbed anymore ships.

"When I returned, I heard about Will and tracked him down. I was actually waiting for him in his camp while he collected firewood when I stumbled across the list of criminals and got an idea as to how to prove I was still Ranger-worthy and make things up to him.

"Then he caught up to me and, well, we scuffled before I plucked the courage to tell him who I really was."

"You haven't heard the best bit." Will said. "She fought brilliantly, which is why I'm afraid I need a new bowstring and her ribs are bruised."

He detailed the fight and everyone hung on every word. I marvelled at his story-telling ability while Shannon, who'd been mysteriously quiet, met my eyes and held up a piece of paper.

_We need to talk. ALONE. Meet me in the rafters above the table when everyone's in bed._

I nodded and turned back to Will as he concluded the story. "That's why I think she's going to ace that re-entrance exam."

"The only reason he caught up to me is because I fell for this brilliant trick; he read a letter with great emphasis and copied down fake names as if they were more criminals—I recognised them immediately from the old case files I read, but didn't make it out of the camp in time—and then managed to track me through three bogs, a swamp, multiple thick forests, and even a few corn fields."

"Ewwww." Kory said. "You guys are totally back together, aren't you?"

"Wow, you just noticed?" Adrianne said sarcastically.

"You know what!"

"Tell me, Adrianne," I interrupted, "Do Will and I have to wait for you and Kory to get married too, can we go right after Marissa and Gilan?" I grinned as she threw a pillow at me with impeccable aim.

"Why do you have to wait at all?" Carmen asked.

"I beat Rose in a sword fight, and the deal was whoever won got married first." Missy replied smugly.

I rolled my eyes. "I let you win, because I realised I'd have to wear a dress."

"Suuuure."

She got a pillow thrown at her next, but it hit Gilan instead. He was just about to throw it at me, but Alyss intervened. "I don't think Rangers, even right before Christmas, are supposed to get into pillow fights."

**Third chapter in ONE night. Oops, I guess it's been two days now that it's past midnight… I need to stop drinking caffeine with dinner. :p**


	43. Shannon

"Can I get you anything?" Shannon asked without even looking up at my perch in the rafters. She was ghosting through the kitchen silently, making herself tea.

"Just coffee—black, like my soul."

"Haha." She said sardonically. "I suppose you'd like a revolting quantity of honey to go with it."

"Ouch. I see you take after Crowley."

"I hear the chipped mug with blue glaze is yours?"

"Yes. Did Marissa ensure no one touched it?"

"Nope, she used it."

"I knew it." I muttered.

She laughed and set the mug on the table. I dropped down into my seat, watching her as she stirred a cube of sugar into the tea. "Are we going to chatter idly or talk about what you asked me to come here about?"

"Let's talk about your mug first."

"Providing you've got evidence to back up that notion, let's."

"It's really not that extraordinary. Who would want to steal it from you? And yet you're protective of it. It has a value to you, but not to anyone else; but that doesn't matter. You're extremely territorial. You moved around a lot as a child, going from fief to fief as your father checked up on the knights' training standards. Not much came along with you, except for this mug. Then you put your foot down at the age of—what? Thirteen?—and you stayed with Gilan and your mother and Marissa while your father travelled. You saw Will whenever you could, even though you had to watch him with Alyss. And once Alyss was gone, he was all yours. And then she came back, and you saw again just how tentative your hold on him was, and you vowed not to lose him again once you got him back. But you saw me as a threat even though while you were giving me death glares, I was giving him tips on how to propose to you. All the female apprentices were, Missy especially, but he thought you and I were the most similar."

I stared at her, and then registered everything she'd said sub-textually. "How much of that did you just paraphrase from Elizabeth?"

"Every word." She said, smiling.

I laughed, and she joined in as we sat drinking our preferred beverages.

"So we're not enemies?"

"Nope."

"I need a red-headed bridesmaid, you know. I've got Anne with her black hair, Beth with her dark hair, Adrianne with honeyed brown, Marissa with light brown, and of course Alyss and I with ash blonde."

"I'll check my schedule. Red-haired bridesmaids _are_ in high demand."

We both laughed again and it was actually sort of… nice.

Then something occurred to me. "Beth."

"Um?"

"I need to talk to her next."

"Try not to get killed." She called after me. "Talking to Beth at this time of night, it's a pretty decent risk…" Shannon shook her head and laughed as she took a sip of her tea.


	44. Poisonous

Beth was wide awake and sorting herbs when I found her in the stables. Even as I entered, she sighed and tossed a crumbling bundle of leaves to one side. "Sage never keeps well in seaside climates. Oh, how I miss Macindaw. What can I do for you, oh prodigal daughter?"

"I punched you."

"Yes, yes you did."

"And then you defended me while I was gone."

"Yes, yes I did."

"Why?"

"I had my reasons."

I rested a booted foot on the stacks of leaves with arms folded. My hair was sticking out oddly from sleeping, and I know I must've looked a sight standing there obstinately in rumpled nightclothes. "Why did you defend me?" I asked.

"You're my sister." She said simply. "So I put my meddling to good use. Besides, I knew you'd be back and I wanted to make sure everyone was okay with you coming back."

"How'd you know I was coming back? I didn't even know!"

"I know because you once ran off against orders to save Will where much more experienced people had failed to save your mother. I know because you fought for Will even when he didn't seem to want you. You fought to be a Ranger even when it seemed you wouldn't fit in. You never once gave up on being the most tenacious brat around, and you're madly in love with Will."

"Thanks…?"

"Love never does make sense. I know you liked Wayde, and I don't expect you to understand. You've only ever loved Will, and you never got a chance to find out what falling out of love feels like. I guess you're lucky."

"I trust your judgement. If you say no more Wayde, then there'll be no more Wayde."

"I know." She grinned. "Because you think I'm in charge."

I snorted and sat down to watch the sorting. "There's no _think_ about it. You're such a Holly."

"Oh, please tell me you don't put store in birth month lore." Beth said with a groan.

"Don't be ridiculous. Our birthdays are two days apart and yet I'm so much more of a Reed."

"Reed isn't even a tree. I never understood that."

"According to ancient texts, it used to grow taller than men." I picked up a small cloudy bottle whose label had worn off. "Is there supposed funny clump in this?"

She took the bottle and popped the cork, sniffing it. "Dunno," She admitted, before dipping her pinky tip in the liquid and tasting a drop. "Mm, no, throw that out."

"What is it?"

"Hemlock, and I'm afraid its potency will be impossible to calculate now that it's gone bad. Could be harmless or it could be twice as deadly."

"_What_? And you just tasted it? Did you know it was hemlock?"

"I was reasonably sure. It's hard to tell without tasting it."

"And is it twice as potent or half as potent?"

"Give me an hour to see if I foam at the mouth, and then I'll tell you."

I gaped at her for a moment and she laughed. "Rose, I've been doing this my whole life."

"You're clearly immortal." I muttered.

"That's what Alyss's apprentice Melody said when I got bit by a snake over the summer."

"Alyss has an apprentice—never mind that! WHAT SNAKE?"

"An adder, I think Will said it was. It appears there was no venom in the bite, because I'm clearly fine."

"Or you've become immune."

"Doubtful. I drank a bit of it once, but to be honest I don't think drinking it helps the immunity. It didn't even give me a stomach ache. I think it was just a dry bite, like Halt said. I named it Paul, but after the second time he got loose Will made me get rid of him."

"Maybe you're immune to all venom."

"Nah, I was attacked by a jellyfish one summer. Hurt like the very devil too."

"I think the snake's venom was too afraid of all the poisons in your blood to do anything. That would explain why mosquitoes and ticks don't bother you either… _You_'re probably poisonous."

"You overestimate me." She said sharply.

I watched her for a moment. "We don't expect you to be perfect. Yeah, we respect and admire you, but we don't need you to be perfect. You can make mistakes, lose control. I'll be here to help pick up the pieces."

"If I lose control, there might not be pieces left over to pick up, and you might not be here."

"The world doesn't have to be on your shoulders."

"Of course it doesn't. I never asked for it to be."

"We kind of put it there at times." I said. "Have you ever wanted to just run away and live in a cottage on the sea where no one can reach you and you don't have to save Araluen all the time?"

"Gods, yes."

"You can do it if you want. I'll hold your spot if you want it back, and keep it if you don't. I owe you. If you ever want to run, just say the word."

Elizabeth nodded thanks and we fell into companionable silence, me lining up the herbs for keep and for discard and munching on the rosemary that came my way. "Alyss is pregnant."

"That's wonderful. I heard little Princess Evelyn will be running amok too?"

"She's adorable. Takes after her mother—blonde ringlets and imperious green eyes."

Her own hair had grown out, slipping past her shoulders and curling far more than it ever had when she'd kept it short. A faint scar under her left eye spoke of some battle injury from several months previously. Almost as if someone had punched her and split the skin—_oh_.

"I really did punch you pretty hard."

"Oh, yes." She said mildly.

We were distracted from the herbs and the scar as the first rays of morning sunlight poked in through the window. "It's Christmas Eve." I realised.

"Happy Christmas, Rose."

"Happy Christmas, Beth."

"Welcome back."

I hurried off to make coffee for everyone, figuring I might as well get on everyone's good side. While it was boiling, I examined the sheath of parchment Crowley had dealt me upon my request for reinstatement.

Quiet footsteps and a flash of white alerted me to the arrival of everyone's favourite courier.

"You're back?" Alyss asked quietly. "For good?"

I glanced up. "For better or for worse. Literally, since Will popped the extremely roundabout question. Wow, you're growing out the hair?"

Alyss wasn't interested in girl-to-girl small talk. She drummed her fingers on the centre of the paperwork I was filling out to get my undivided attention. I set down the quill.

"Are you sober? And I mean one hundred percent, are you completely sober?"

"Yes. Well, unless you count my coffee addiction—but alcohol is out the window. The first bit of alcohol I've had in a year was the cooking wine in the leftovers of last night's dinner I ate when I came in."

She fixed me with piercing grey eyes, and I could feel her doing the soul-searching my mother used to do when I innocently suggested that Gilan might've tied _himself_ to the rafters.

"Yep, you're pregnant, only a mom can do that. Listen, Alyss, I was really rude last year. Can you forgive me once again?"

"Yeah, I think I can. It's good to have you back, Rose."

"I know, the world must suck without me."

"I wouldn't go insofar as to say that."

"You must be glad to have me back for some reason."

"Will's been a mess without you." She admitted. "Take care of him, Rosabel. If you bow out of this wedding… Don't do anything rash or rush into it. I know you're just a kid still."

"Alyss, I met a lot of guys when I was out in the world, a lot of good-looking rich men my own age. I don't think I could so easily say it before, but now I can irrevocably say all I want is Will. And the amazing thing is he still wants me. I'm going to do right by him this time."

"A year ago you'd have punched me for calling you a kid."

"I don't hit pregnant women."

"How do you even know about that? I haven't told anyone, not even George."

"Beth told me."

"But…" Then she groaned. "Melody."

"Who is this Melody girl?"

"My apprentice. She's coming in with the royal family tonight."

"When you say royal family…"

"King Duncan is coming. Along with his betrothed, I might add."

"Betrothed?"

"Adrianne and Cassandra are to be stepsisters." Alyss said, lips twitching.


	45. Merry Christmas, An Epilogue

Christmas with the Rangers is one of those inexplicable situations where Halt is on his best behaviour and even Carmen and Vanessa were on good terms. Erm, mostly.

Cassandra was lounging on the rug by the fireplace with Alyss, Anne, and Marissa, leaned against Horace's legs and watching Evelyn climbing all over the King and Halt, who were rather awkwardly chairing a couch with their women—Pauline and Meredith got on pretty well—while the latter talked over them.

Gilan, Will, George, Henry, and Horace were all sitting on a sofa opposite Halt and Duncan with their wives and fiancées sitting against them on the ground (mostly because the men needed their coffee to stay awake, and putting coffee on the floor was just asking for Evelyn to get a hold of it), myself excluded.

I was helping Shannon make coffee and tea for everyone. Carmen and Vanessa were talking in earnest voices to Melody and Beth on the floor by the fireplace while Adrianne and Kory had some sort of domestic disagreement.

"What do you reckon they're talking about?" Vanessa asked.

Anne smirked. "Clearly what to name their children. Kory, just think Killian is a wonderful name!" She said, imitating Adrianne.

"Oh, but Adrianne, I love the name Poppy!" I replied, leaning down into the conversation under the pretence of delivering coffee.

"Killian!" She insisted.

"Poppy!" Carmen and I agreed.

"KILLIAN!" Vanessa joined in.

"POPPY!"

"Why did I marry you?"

"Because you love me!"

"I'm going to kill you as soon as Christmas is over." Adrianne called cheerfully.

"Speaking of Christmas, oughtn't we get a move on?" Alyss asked.

Will frowned, looking around at the stacks and stacks of presents. "How do we determine what order to open presents?"

We fell into arguments then.

"Size?"

"By length or height?"

"From smaller or from bigger?"

"Age?"

"Youngest or oldest first?"

"I'm not telling you how old I am!"

"Rank?

"That's kind of offensive."

"Colour?"

"How the hell is that even supposed to work?"

"I thought we were just listing useless ideas!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT!"

"Dear God, are they always like this?" Melody asked Alyss.

"Always," All the non-warriors agreed.

Carmen sprang away from her sister. "Crowleeeeey!" She cried.

"Oh, for God's sake." Alyss muttered, grabbing boxes and shoving them into people's laps. "It's a miracle any of you ever accomplish anything."

"STOP." Evelyn said loudly.

We all stopped and turned to face her in surprise as she pointed to a box. Elizabeth's smirk worried me.

"Who's it for, honey?" I asked.

She shrugged. "For da Ranger folk. Unca Halt open, open!"

Halt exchanged glances with us worriedly and picked up the box. Inside was a cloak. A mottled cloak—a red and green mottled cloak. _How very Christmas-y,_ I thought to myself.

"Unca Halt should wear." Evelyn ordered.

I was rather surprised when Halt—although scowling at Crowley—swung it over his shoulders.

"Merry Christmas," Cassandra said, smiling.

Will picked up his mandola and started playing holiday music, eggnog and coffee were passed around, and presents got unwrapped. After a snowball fight with the crumpled brown paper, we all ended up crowded around the fireplace.

"No one is to ever find out how Rangers spend Christmas," Gilan intoned. "And anything I say under the influence of eggnog is to be ignored."

"I'll drink to that," Will agreed, before glancing at me.

I smiled and took a sip of my coffee. "Cheers."

X-x-X-x-X One Year Later X-x-X-x-X

"Coffee?" Halt asked us at large.

I snorted. "Why ask questions you already know the answer to?"

"Probably the same reason you answer questions with questions."

"To annoy the hell out of you?"

"Spot on," Halt said sardonically. "Pauline?"

"Tea, darling."

"Why don't you call me darling?" Will whispered in my ear.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't push your luck, Will Treaty." I replied.

"I think I will, Mrs. Treaty."

"Mm… That's Ranger Rosabel Treaty to you. You know, I like the sound of that."

"It'd probably work out better for your Ranger career if you weren't pregnant," Halt pointed out as he handed me coffee.

"Oh, it won't set my career back a bit if you babysit while I'm on missions, Mr. Retiree."

"We are not babysitting for you,"

"Halt!" Pauline chided. "We'd be glad to, Rosabel."

"Why thank you, Pauline."

I had a mother, a father, a husband, a dog (Ebony's chin rested on my feet), brothers and sisters, a silver oak-leaf, and soon a child. 21 years old and I had everything I'd ever wanted—even if it wasn't how I'd expected.

"_One day, when we grow up, we're going to marry two brothers." I told Marissa. "Then we'll be sisters. Mummy and Daddy will adopt you and we'll get a cat—"_

"_A dog!"_

"_Okay, okay, a dog. And we'll be the only two female Rangers, and all your brothers will be my brothers. And our husbands will have lots of family too. Then we can grow old together."_

"_Who's going to get married first?"_

"_Well, me of course."_

"_Not fair! I'm older."_

"_Barely."_

"_Three months!" She said indignantly._

"_Whatever. I'll get married first, because I'm more mature."_

"_Are not!"_

"_Are too."_

"_I'll fight you for it."_

"_Deal!"_

_She grabbed our discarded training swords and jumped up. I was midway through parrying a blow when Gilan, Dad, and Halt walked up with a stranger. His name, I would learn, was Will._

_I was distracted, and the sword caught me in the chest. She jumped around shouting in triumph as I studied Will Treaty for the first time as he caught my eyes with his own brown ones and smiled hesitantly. I wondered if he had a brother…_

**This is it, folks! I can't believe how much fun this has been to write. It's been over a YEAR since I posted that flaw-ridden monster of a first chapter, and I've had over a hundred reviews. My reviewers are ALL amazing, but I've got two in mind:**

_RAfan2421_,** who has actually been reviewing my most recent chapters! *cough, cough, non-reviewers* You've been amazing, and so helpful with your pointed comments on how I should continue it!**

_Luvergirlof books_**, my first reviewer: when you reviewed that very first day I posted, I was totally overjoyed. My first real review! Your suggestions really helped improve my writing, and your loyal reviews kept me writing.**

**Others:**

_GodricsRanger_

_Frogata_

_stonedog80_ **(Yes, I killed them, get over it!)**

_runningwithhorses_

_SoulMistress12_

_Eva Cormac_ **(Aw, thanks, sis.)**

_Animevampfreak10_ **(I like your character Sara… EVERYONE GO READ HER STORY FOR A LAUGH!)**

_scarhead8_

_Raider1472 _**(I know, ugh, the Kory thing sucked!)**

_Apprentice of Fire_

_Lizzet Nighthunter_

_Shadowcyrse_

_Lillian_

_Lovemusic2_

_Shadow Ranger_

_RainbowBubble1_

_sneaky lunitic spy_

_RALover_

_~anonymous person who informed me my fic falls into the category "awesome and beyond"~_

_jusa lilcrazE_

_carsgoVROOM_

_WillxEvanlynforever_

_Da' Book Worm___**(Your constructive criticism has been stored for later usage, thank you!)**

_Ginger_

_JACKtheREAPER537_

_Konri Kari_

_wolfdragonz_

**Wow, guys, almost thirty reviewers!**

**I'd like to add that I WILL be editing this baby from start to finish, and I WILL have it done before its one year anniversary (for those of you keeping track at home, I posted this fanfiction on March 21****st****, 2011!)**

**And now, for a much more solid shout-out: there are some people without whom my cast of OC's wouldn't exist.**

_**Eva Cormac (**_**Marissa**_**)—**_fact is, if it came down to it, there's no one I'd rather have by my side if transported into RA to replace Alyss and Jenny. Thanks for your support and review.

_**Tarquinia "Quinn" Finnegan (**_**Adrianne**_**)—**_thank you for being a crazy fangirl with me and Estella and playing LARP games based on RA, games that are in fact the basis of this fic—you're the best archer I know, by the way.

_**Estella Cigam (**_**Elizabeth**_**)—**_I'm eternally in your debt. You taught me right and wrong and that funny little grey shade in between that Rangers spend so much time in. Thanks, my poisonous friend.

_**Camilla Rose (**_**Annabel**_**)—**_oh, I know I killed you. Sorry. I figured you'd be the one to run off screaming like a Skandian and save all of our hides. Anyhoo, you'll be in the sequel under a new name.

_**Alyssa Latrommi (**_**Anne**_**)—**_I didn't even know you read RA, but in hindsight, it's obvious from your quiet mannerisms that you're a Ranger sent undercover to keep an eye on our volatile Estella.

_**Atticus Walker (**_**Kory**_**)—**_pacifist, shmacifist. You're a knight dating Adrianne. (You never technically dated Quinn? Eh, nuance.)

_**Jameson Hemp (**_**Wayde**_**)—**_I'd just said as an aside to Estella, "We might just make a Ranger of him yet!" And then you fell out of the tree. Thanks a lot.

_**Carmen and Vanessa Diaz (**_**Carmen and Vanessa**_**)—**_you guys made terrible Rangers. Neon flip-flops? Halt would've died. It was an honour, girls.

_**Shannon Miller (**_**Shannon**_**)—**_I'm sorry I didn't protect you from the Jerome's, Bryn's, and Alda's of our primary school. Halt would've been ashamed.

**Okay, okay, enough reminiscing on my part.**

**Can't get enough Rosabel? Well, subscribe, sweetie—I have another RA fic staring the whole gang, entitled **_**If You Can't Beat 'Em. **_**And I assure you, there will be a sequel starring the kids and the characters of this one.**

**And you Sherlockians, read **_**A Very Holmes Christmas**_** (by me!), which stars Rosabel as Sherlock's protective little sister.**

**If there's any fandom you'd like to see her in, drop me a line—review or PM—and we'll see if it's a fandom I know.**


	46. NOTE

Okay, guys, you're seeing new chapters—I'm editing, ignore me. Ta.


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